Curiousity Killed The Cat
by siriuslywizard
Summary: Eleniel Elwing is a pure-blooded Gryffindor. She is starting Hogwarts at the same time as the 4 Marauders. Soon, the five of them become close friends, but Eleniel is hiding something, and the marauders won't rest until they know what her secret is...
1. Meeting the Boys

Eleniel and her sisters Indis and Aredhel climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, waving goodbye to their parents and older sister, Lassiel. As usual, they were there in plenty of time, allowing them to have almost full choice of the available compartments.

They made their way along the train until they found one, going inside and sitting down, talking quietly. They hadn't been there long when a group of Indis' friends came along and she left with them, saying a hurried goodbye to her two younger sisters.  
>Eleniel and Aredhel stayed in the compartment, talking and laughing about what had happened during the holidays.<p>

Not long before the train actually left the station, Aredhel's friends came along and she went with them to find a compartment, saying goodbye to her younger sister.  
>Eleniel was left alone in the compartment. Far from being bored, she pulled a book from her bag and lost herself in a completely different world. Before long, she was torn from her book by the sound of the compartment door opening.<p>

A thin, pale boy with light brown hair looked in. "Do you mind if I sit in here?" he asked her. She shook her head, closing her book and grinning as the boy sat down opposite her.

He smiled nervously. "I'm Remus Lupin" he introduced himself.

Eleniel smiled at him. "I'm Eleniel" she replied before asking "first year?"

Remus nodded. "Me too!" she replied. Remus looked relieved. "At least I'll know someone then" he joked.

Eleniel laughed along with him until the compartment door opened and a tall boy with longish black hair looked in. "Can I sit in here?" he asked. Eleniel looked at Remus and said "I don't mind, do you?"

Remus shook his head and, turning to the boy, said "sure."

The boy sat down next to Remus. "First years?" he asked. They both nodded. "Same" he replied.

Eleniel looked curious. "You're one of the Black family, right?" she asked him. He nodded.

"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black" he answered.

Eleniel nodded thoughtfully, "I'm Eleniel Elwing" she told him. "And this is Remus Lupin."

The three of them had began to talk about which house they'd be put into, when the compartment door opened again and two boys peered in. One was tall with untidy black hair and wore glasses, whereas the other was shorter and rounder, with sandy coloured hair.  
>"Do you mind if we sit in here?" the black haired boy asked. They all shook their heads. The two boys came into the compartment and sat down, introducing themselves as James Potter and Peter Pettigrew.<p>

Sirius and Remus introduced themselves, but before Eleniel could introduce herself, James asked her "Wait! You're one of the Elwings, right?"  
>Smiling slightly, she nodded.<br>"Just don't expect me to remember which one you are, because you four look really similar!" James added.  
>"I'm Eleniel" she replied.<br>James grinned. "That's the one!" he exclaimed. "Do you remember me?"  
>Eleniel started to laugh. "I'm hardly going to forget you, the last time I saw you, you fell headfirst into our garden pond!" she exclaimed.<br>The others started laughing. "How did he end up in the pond?" Sirius asked.  
>"Long story" said Eleniel, "but basically, it was at a party and he'd had far too much to drink!"<br>They continued to laugh, as Remus asked "so how do you guys know each other?"  
>"Our parents know each other, so we tend to get invited to parties" James explained. "Although we haven't seen each other in what is it now...?" he turned to Eleniel.<br>"Three years I think" she replied.  
>James shrugged. "Sounds about right" he answered.<p>

Throughout the entire train journey, the five of them stayed in the compartment. Eleniel began to work out their personalities.

Remus, was quiet and slightly serious, but had a good sense of humour.

Sirius was a complete prankster and was obsessed with Quidditch, as was James.

Now Peter on the other hand didn't really seem to fit in. He hung onto James and Sirius' every word and seemed content to just sit back and let everyone else talk around him. After a while, everyone had forgotten he was there.

Before long they were arriving.

As they stepped off the train, a giant man, who must be half-giant at least, began calling out "all first years to me! Come along, don't be shy now, first years!"  
>They were led to the boats. Eleniel found herself in a boat with Remus, Sirius, James and Peter. She got a sense that they'd be spending a lot of time together these next couple of years.<p> 


	2. The Sorting Ceremony

When they arrived at Hogwarts, the first years were instructed to wait outside the Great Hall. Presently, Professor McGonnagol returned and told them to follow her.  
>As she walked into the Great Hall with the others, Eleniel spotted her sisters, sitting at the Gryffindor table with their friends. They waved at her and she grinned back, but was forced to carry on walking by Sirius jabbing her in the back with his wand which he was supposed to have left in his trunk. "They your sisters?" he asked as they gathered around the Sorting Hat. "Yeah" she murmured back as the hat began to sing.<br>Professor McGonnagol pulled out a scroll and began reading out names. The first name called was "Black, Sirius"  
>Sirius sighed as he sauntered up to the stool and the hat was placed on his head. "Gryffindor!" the hat hollered. Sirius exchanged a puzzled look with Eleniel as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. They'd all expected him to be in Slytherin...<br>Eleniel patiently watched the rest of the sortings until "Elwing, Eleniel" was called out. She calmly sat down and the hat was placed on her head. _"Ah...you again..." _the hat spoke into her ear. _"Well, best put you back where you were last time...better be GRYFFINDOR!" _  
>Eleniel smiled to herself as she sat down next to Sirius and they watched the rest of the sortings together. To their relief, both James and Remus were placed into Gryffindor too...and so was Peter.<p>

As they were shown to their dormitories and warned that the boys would NOT be able to enter the girls dorms unless they wanted a nasty surprise, Eleniel giggled when Sirius muttered to her "I bet I can find a way...!"  
>He was given a fright however, when Eleniel's sister, Indis, called "I wouldn't bet on that Sirius!" from the other end of the common room. He looked at Eleniel with wide eyes. "How did she hear me?" he asked in wonder. Aredhel walked past and told him "curiosity killed the cat Mr Black" He looked even more surprised as he hissed "when did she appear?" Eleniel simply laughed..."Curiosity killed the cat Mr Black" she teased him. "Curiosity killed the cat!"<p> 


	3. Dorm Mates

As Eleniel headed up to her allocated dorm, she discovered that her things were already lying at the foot of the bed closest to the window.  
>A girl with red hair was already in their dorm, organising her bedside table. "Hi, I'm Eleniel Elwing" Eleniel introduced herself.<br>The girl smiled shyly. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lily Evans" she replied politely.  
>"Nice to meet you" Eleniel immediately responded, before asking "any idea who our final dorm member is?"<br>Lily shook her head. "Not a clue" she replied.  
>Eleniel sighed. "Well I guess we'll find out soon enough" she mused, turning back to her own trunk.<br>Then a girl walked into the dorm. She went straight over to her own things, which were stacked at the foot of the bed at the opposite end of the room to Eleniel's bed. Lily and Eleniel introduced themselves. The girl beamed at the pair of them. "I'm Molly Prewitt" she introduced herself.

Before long, the three girls were getting on brilliantly, then Eleniel checked her watch and remembered that she'd agreed to meet the boys at 7:30pm. It was 7:29pm. "I've got to go" she told Molly and Lily. "You can come with me if you want." Both girls politely declined the offer, so Eleniel headed back down to the common room alone.


	4. First Day of Class

It was the first day of class.

Eleniel walked into Transfiguration with Molly and Lily.  
>She spotted Sirius, James and Remus waving wildly to her form the seats they had chosen beside the windows. Peter had not yet shown up, so Eleniel slid into the empty seat next to Remus, seeing that Molly and Lily had already found seats near the front. Eleniel saw that Lily was talking to a Slytherin boy with greasy black hair.<br>"So, looking forward to today's lessons?" Eleniel teased the three boys.  
>They all made faces, indicating a no.<br>"Well, it could be worse, we could be at muggle school!" she reminded them.  
>"But then we'd never have met you" Sirius winked at her.<br>She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever" she laughed.  
>Peter came hurrying into the classroom just seconds before Professor McGonnagol started the lesson, and so he was stuck sitting alone near the front.<br>By the end of the lesson, Remus, Sirius and James were eying Eleniel with more respect than previously. She had answered every question correctly, given them answers when McGonnagol shot unexpected questions at them, managed to complete all of the classwork and still have time left to sit and stare out of the window.

They all walked down to Herbology together. Sirius, James, Remus and Eleniel in front, Peter hurrying to try and keep up with them.  
>"Are you some kind of super-brain, or is that just for Transfiguration?" James teased her.<br>She laughed. "I wouldn't say that I'm any sort of super-brain!" she answered. "I guess it's down to my sisters, we've always taught each other things, so as they learnt this stuff, they'd come home in the holidays and teach me it too!"  
>Sirius looked curious. "But didn't that ever get boring?" he asked, horrified by the very thought.<br>She shook her head. "Not really, to be honest, I was just pleased to be spending time with my sisters, I never really saw them very often, and I barely ever see my brother even now!"  
>"I didn't know you had a brother" Remus said, looking puzzled. "How come you never mentioned him?"<br>Eleniel shrugged. "There's a lot that you three don't know about me" she replied.  
>Sirius smirked. "We'll find out <strong>everything <strong>just wait and see" he said confidently.  
>Eleniel laughed with them, but murmured under her breath "<em>I wouldn't be so sure about that..."<em>


	5. Common Room

It was the end of their first official day of school. Eleniel, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were in the Gryffindor common room.  
>"So, you still haven't told us why you didn't mention your brother before now" Sirius said pointedly looking at Eleniel.<br>She shrugged. "Why are you so bothered?" she asked, a small smile playing on her lips.  
>"Because I just am" he answered.<br>Eleniel rolled her eyes. "I didn't see any point in mentioning him, you're never going to meet them because they've already left Hogwarts..." she trailed off as Remus gave her a puzzled look.  
>"What?" she asked uncertainly.<br>"You said 'you're never going to meet them' not 'you're never going to meet him', but you said you only had one brother, so what did you mean?" Remus asked.  
>"Oh...I meant them" she said quietly.<br>"What?" James, Sirius and Remus asked in unison, with equally confused expressions.  
>"I have two older brothers" she admitted.<br>"Why didn't you tell us?" James asked curiously.  
>She shrugged. "I guess I didn't really think you needed to know" she replied.<br>"So, tell us" Sirius persisted.  
>Eleniel sighed. "There's not really much to tell..." she protested.<br>Sirius folded his arms, looking like a sulky toddler, not realising how attractive it made him look.  
>"Fine...I'll explain" Eleniel sighed. "I have two older brothers called Larrel and Caspian. Caspian, is actually my cousin, but my parents adopted him as another son because his parents died when he was quite young" she explained.<br>The boys were silent, processing this news.  
>Sirius gave Eleniel a sudden hug. "Sorry, for pressuring you into telling us" he whispered into her ear.<br>She smiled, leaning against him contentedly. "It's okay" she said softly. "It's okay..."


	6. Relations

Sirius, James, Remus and Eleniel were running through the corridors, already 10 minutes late for Potions. Peter had already gone because Frank Longbottom had offered to show him the way.  
>Sirius, being Sirius, he had scoffed at Frank's offer of help and wouldn't even be close to the Potions classroom if it wasn't for Eleniel, who thankfully, knew where she was going.<br>As they bolted down another corridor, a group of Slytherin Second-Years stepped in front of them, blocking their path.  
>Bellatrix Black appeared to be the leader. She folded her arms across her chest, glaring at Sirius. "Traitor." she spat at him.<br>Eleniel gently touched his elbow, discreetly shaking her head at him. Thankfully, he listened and ignored Bellatrix.  
>"Well, well, well cousin, you've stooped to even lower standards this time!" a sharp, cold voice drawled.<br>James, Sirius and Remus exchanged puzzled looks, but Eleniel simply rolled her eyes.  
>A tall boy, with the same pale skin and golden hair as Eleniel and her sisters, pushed his way to the front of the Slytherins. "I don't really see how who I hang around with is any of your business Erlich" she snapped.<br>The boy gave Eleniel a particularly dirty look, which she returned.  
>"You're bringing shame on this family..." Erlich continued.<br>Eleniel snorted. "The only one bringing shame on the Elwing family is you Erlich, you're the only Slytherin!" she retorted.  
>Erlich opened his mouth to answer, but she shoved her way through the gang of Slytherins, Remus, Sirius and James close behind her.<br>When they were several corridors away, Sirius turned to Eleniel and asked. "Was that your cousin?"  
>"Yeah" Eleniel replied quietly. "And before you ask, I didn't mention him because he hates me and our entire family because he's a Slytherin and our entire family are Gryffindors."<br>Sirius looked sad. "That's how it is with my family, only they hate me because I was put into Gryffindor, not the other way around" he said quietly.  
>Eleniel looked apologetic and immediately pulled Sirius into a hug. "I'm sorry" she whispered.<br>Sirius hugged her back. "It's okay" he mumbled. "You knew I'd ask anyway..."


	7. Quidditch Practise

Eleniel, Sirius and James were playing Quidditch. Well, they were taking it in turns to be the Keeper and the others would just try and score. Remus, who had never been one for heights, was sitting in the empty stands, alone, watching them. As usual, Peter was nowhere to be found.  
>James was taking his turn at being Keeper and Sirius was so busy taunting him in an attempt to put him off, he wasn't looking where he was flying.<br>His broom collided with Eleniel's with a thud. Eleniel lost her balance and fell. Sirius dived his broom downwards, managing to catch her before she hit the ground. James sped off to rescue her broom, which had gone spiralling off in the opposite direction. Remus had seen the whole event and was rushing down from the stands.  
>As Sirius landed his broom on the ground, he helped Eleniel off, saying gently "Careful Ellie, we don't want you ending up in the hospital wing!"<br>She rolled her eyes. "You can't really tell me to be careful when it was your fault that I fell" she replied.  
>Sirius looked hurt. "I didn't meant to knock you flying" he said in an injured tone. "I would never deliberately hurt you!"<br>She laughed. "It's okay Siri" she answered, turning to James as he handed her back her broomstick with a dramatic flourish.  
>James gave her an anxious look. "You're not hurt are you?" he asked.<br>"No, I'm fine" she reassured him.  
>Remus joined them. He hugged Eleniel. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.<br>She rolled her eyes but laughed. "I'm fine! Now will you all stop asking me that!" she exclaimed.


	8. It's the Weekend!

"IT'S THE WEEKEND!" Sirius howled as James and Remus dragged him out of bed by the ankles.  
>"Sirius! Get up!" Remus yelled over his friend's whining.<br>"No!" Sirius screamed.  
>"Get up!" James yelled, using his wand to shoot a jet of water at Sirius.<br>He whimpered and clung to his mattress.  
>Peter yanked the pillows from him and tossed them to the over side of the dorm, shortly followed by his duvet.<br>"Sirius! Get up. Now!" James, Remus and Peter yelled in unison.  
>Sirius ignored them.<br>With a nod to Remus and Peter, James moved round to the other side of Sirius's bed. On the silent count of three, they tipped the mattress up and Sirius fell to the floor. He yelled out indignantly and grabbed a pillow, which he began to hit out at them with.  
>Immediately, the other three grabbed pillows to defend themselves.<br>Before long, they were involved in a every-man-for-himself pillow fight, whooping and yelling as the battle commenced. The pillow-war ended when James lost grip of his pillow and it fell out of the window. They all rushed to the window, but they couldn't see the pillow.  
>"I'll go get it" James sighed.<br>"I'll come with you" Remus offered, after all, it had been his whack on the back of James head which had caused his aim to be knocked and the pillow to fly out of the window anyway.  
>"We'll all go" Sirius decided. "Just let me get dressed"<br>"Uh...guys..." Peter said.  
>They all turned to look at him. "Erm...don't you think we should sort this out first?" he asked, gesturing to the burst pillows on the floor and the feathers which were still floating around.<br>They looked around and started to laugh.


	9. Secret Keeping

It was half term.  
>The Gryffindor tower was empty apart from Eleniel and her sisters who had had to remain in school, Lily who had managed to get her parents to let her stay by convincing them that Eleniel would be lonely, Sirius who had refused to go home, several older students and Remus and James who had persuaded their parents to let them stay with Eleniel and Sirius.<br>It was the first morning of half term and Sirius, Remus and James had been up for hours. Eventually, they decided to go and wake Eleniel up, completely forgetting that Lily shared a dorm with her.  
>As they walked in, they discovered that Eleniel and Lily were both asleep. As they gazed at Eleniel, who was stretched out on her back, with the duvet only covering her legs, they saw that her T-shirt had risen up (at one side) to just below her ribs. Sirius leant over to straighten it, but something made him stop.<br>James and Remus gave him puzzled looks, but he silently pointed to a long, thin scar which zig-zagged diagonally across her flat stomach, starting at her left ribs and ending just above her belly-button.  
>As they all stared at it in shock and horror, Eleniel stirred in her sleep, rolling onto her side, her T-Shirt falling back down and covering her scar.<br>The three boys silently retreated to the common room, where they sat and talked in low voices about what they had just seen.  
>An hour later, Eleniel came down into the common room. She had dressed and was wearing black skinny jeans with a studded belt and a Gryffindor Quidditch T-Shirt, which must have belonged to one of her brothers as it was too big to have fit any of her sister's, who were just as skinny as she was.<br>She saw the boys sitting in a group, looking serious and went to join them. "What's up with you three?" she asked.  
>They all exchanged a look. Sirius took a deep breath. "How did you get that scar?" he asked.<br>"I haven't got a scar" she said defensively.  
>He sighed. "Ellie. We've seen it, why are you keeping secrets from us?" he asked.<br>She bit her lip. "I...I can't answer you" she muttered, getting to her feet and vanishing out of the common room.


	10. School Again

The boys didn't see Eleniel again (except at mealtimes) for the rest of half-term. Instead, she was spending time with Lily and her sisters.  
>When school started up again, she finally started spending time with them again. Sirius wanted to ask her straight out about her scar, but Remus and James stopped him, not wanting Eleniel to drift away from them again.<br>They were in History of Magic. James, Sirius and Peter sat behind Remus, Eleniel and Lily.  
>Around halfway through the lesson, Lily, Eleniel and Remus were deep in conversation (Remus was the only one of Eleniel's friends whom Lily tolerated).<br>Sirius jabbed Eleniel in the back with his wand.  
>"What?" she asked, turning around.<br>He smirked, but before he could speak, she shuddered and warned him "don't smirk like that again! You look like Malfoy!"  
>They all started laughing (even Lily), especially when the Slytherins (including Lucius Malfoy) looked up and fixed them with glares. When they finally managed to stop laughing, Sirius asked Eleniel "how do you know Malfoy anyway?"<br>Eleniel sighed. "I'm a pureblood, remember? My parents might not be pureblood-maniacs, but that doesn't mean we don't still get invited to all the stupid parties and gatherings!"  
>Sirius looked apologetic. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you're a pureblood because most purebloods are horrible and you're really nice!"<br>Eleniel looked faintly pleased with the compliment, but grinned and tod him "don't think I'm going to explain myself to you, just because you're being extra-nice to me!"  
>The other boys, Eleniel and Lily started to laugh as Sirius groaned and looked defeated.<br>Lily, Eleniel and Remus turned back to their work, but several minutes later, a paper aeroplane landed on Remus's desk.  
>He discreetly opened it. It read (in Sirius's scrawling handwriting):<br>_We need a new plan...and fast! Any ideas? _  
>Remus screwed the piece of parchment up and turned around to mutter something to Sirius.<br>What none of the boys realised was that Eleniel had seen Sirius's message and a secret smile had slowly spread across her face...


	11. Lovestruck

A few weeks passed and the boys gave up on trying to discover more about Eleniel's scar. They didn't want to lose her friendship, and although they were curious, they put their friendship first.  
>Eleniel walked into the boys' dorm, early one Saturday morning, to find Sirius sat on his bed looking sulky.<br>She sat down next to Remus, asking "what's wrong with him?" in a low voice.  
>Remus grinned as he answered "he wants a girlfriend"<br>Eleniel started laughing.  
>"And he wants our help to find one for him" James added, sitting on the other side of her.<br>Eleniel rolled her eyes but walked over to Sirius. "Hey Siri" she said cheerfully.  
>"Hey Ellie" he responded grumpily.<br>She laughed as she asked "what's wrong?"  
>"I need a new girlfriend" he replied.<br>Eleniel looked puzzled. "But I thought you were dating that kid, Natasha or whatever she was called?" she asked.  
>Sirius shook his head. "I got sick of her. She was too clingy" he answered.<br>Eleniel had to laugh. "So why are you sitting here complaining?" she asked teasingly. "Come sit with us, we'll some up with suggestions."  
>Sirius followed her across the room to where the others were sitting.<br>"Okay, so first things first, what year?" Eleniel asked.  
>"Erm...ours...one year older at maximum" Sirius replied.<br>"Right...so a first or a second year..." Eleniel said thoughtfully.  
>"How about Alice?" Remus suggested.<br>Sirius shook his head. "Too quiet, and far to close to Longbottom for my liking" he replied.  
>Eleniel rolled her eyes. "This is going to be a great day. I can just feel it. Today is going to be a great day." she muttered sarcastically.<br>James gave her an amused look before suggesting "how about Molly? You know, the one who Ellie shares a dorm with?"  
>Sirius shook his head. "No way. She's too bossy!" she said firmly.<br>Eleniel looked faintly annoyed. "You know Sirius, Molly's a really nice person" she reprimanded him.  
>"Okay, sorry, but it's still a no" Sirius sighed.<br>"What about Eleniel?" asked Peter, adding under his breath "she's pretty"  
>Sirius didn't even have chance to reply because Eleniel hastily asked "well how about Lily?"<br>"No!" Sirius and James both exclaimed.  
>Peter, Remus and Eleniel looked amused. "Why not?" they asked together.<br>"She's too bossy, and besides, she's friends with Snivellus" Sirius answered, expressing his dislike of the greasy-haired Slytherin once again.  
>Eleniel turned to James, who was looking slightly uncomfortable.<br>"Um yeah...exactly what Sirius said" he added hastily.  
>Eleniel gave him a suspicious look and Remus was also looking curious.<br>James (who was blushing faintly) noticed and got to his feet.  
>"I'm going to go and get a drink" he told them.<br>Eleniel also stood. "I'll come with you" she told him. She turned to the other three. "Do you three want a pumpkin juice bringing up?" she asked them.  
>They all nodded, "okay, three pumpkin juices, we won't be long" she told them as she and James left.<p>

As they walked down to the kitchens, James asked her, "you don't even want a drink, do you?"  
>She shook her head, grinning as she replied "No. What I want is to know why you reacted how you did when I suggested Sirius dates Lily!"<br>James sighed.  
>"You like Lily, don't you" said Eleniel. It was more of an observation, rather than a question.<br>James stopped walking, grabbing her arm. "You can't tell anyone! Please Ellie, promise me you won't tell anyone!" he said desperately.  
>Eleniel put her hands on James's shoulders. "Shush, calm down James. It's okay, I'm not going to say anything" she reassured him.<br>He sighed in relief. "Thanks Ellie" he mumbled.  
>"Can I just ask, how long have you liked her for?" Eleniel asked with a grin.<br>James looked frustrated. "I don't really know" he sighed. "It was just like, all of a sudden I kept thinking about her at random moments...like how green her eyes are, how silky her hair always looks..."  
>Eleniel snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. "You were daydreaming" she told him as her blinked at her in surprise.<br>He grinned ruefully. "Sorry" he muttered.  
>"That's okay" she replied, asking "do you want me to try and get her to spend more time with us lot? That way, you could get closer to her."<br>James looked hopeful. "Would you?" he asked.  
>"Sure" She agreed.<br>James beamed. "So what about you and Sirius?" he asked.  
>Eleniel looked startled. "What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.<br>"Well, he wants a new girlfriend, and well, you're the most obvious candidate" James pointed out. "I mean, you spend practically every waking minute together!"  
>Eleniel looked thoughtful.<br>"Do you like him?" James asked playfully.  
>Eleniel shrugged. "I don't really know" she sighed.<br>James grinned. "Well, he likes you" he told her.  
>She looked surprised. "Really?" she asked in disbelief.<br>"It's obvious" James said with a shrug.  
>As they continued walking, James didn't notice the small smile, spreading across her face.<p> 


	12. A (Fool-Proof) Plan

That afternoon, Eleniel left the boys' dorm, saying that she'd promised to meet Molly in the library and go over their Herbology assignment.  
>As soon as she had disappeared down the stairs, Sirius, Remus and Peter turned to James.<br>"Well?" asked Sirius impatiently. "What did she say?"  
>James chuckled at the impatience of his best friend. "Not an awful lot actually" he admitted. "She was talking about me and Evans and she just shrugged when I asked if she liked you""<br>Sirius scowled. "I don't care about you and Evans!" he exclaimed. "All I care about right now is making Ellie my girlfriend!"  
>James looked defensive. "Well at least I tried!" he retorted.<br>Remus, sensing an argument brewing, got to his feet. "Never mind Sirius, you can't really expect results first time anyway!"  
>Sirius sighed. "Whatever" he muttered, adding "Peter, you'd better get some decent results tomorrow!" in a threatening tone.<br>Peter went pale. "I'll try" he mumbled.  
>"Sirius, cool it a bit" Remus said sharply. "If Peter fails, I'm next remember"<br>"If you're that desperate to get Eleniel to be your girlfriend, then why don't you just ask her?" Peter asked.  
>James, Remus and Sirius groaned.<br>"Because Peter, I don't want to look like an idiot. Which is what I will look like if I ask her out and she turns me down. Therefore, if you three subtly find out if she's willing to date me, then I can ask her without being turned down. It's fool-proof!" Sirius explained.  
>James looked up. "Actually, it's not fool-proof" he pointed out with a smirk. "What if she finds out about your plan?"<br>Sirius scowled. "You had to find the one weak spot in the whole plan" he grumbled.  
>The others simply laughed.<br>"Sirius! James! Remus! Peter!"  
>They all froze at the sound of Eleniel calling their names as she came up the stairs.<br>"Act casual" Sirius hissed.

Eleniel walked into the room and stopped in shock.  
>Remus was reading James's copy of Hogwarts: A History, <em><strong>upside down<strong>_.  
>All that was visible of Peter, were his ankles and feet, sticking out from <em><strong>underneath Sirius's bed<strong>_.  
>James was clutching the first thing he had grabbed when they had heard Eleniel, <strong><em>Remus's ankle, <em>**and Sirius was leant against the bathroom door, **attempting to ****_brush his hair with Peter's sock_**.  
>Eleniel started to laugh. "Alright, what'd I miss?" she asked.<br>The room went quiet.


	13. Peter's Turn

Eleniel was in the library, sat at a table near the windows, poring over a textbook.  
>Peter headed towards her, glancing nervously over his shoulder at Sirius, Remus and James who were peeking round the edge of a bookcase at him. Sirius made a shooing motion and Peter hastily scuttled over to Eleniel, sitting opposite her. To his relief, Sirius and the other two were escorted out of the library by Madame Pince.<br>Eleniel looked up. "Oh, hi Peter" she said.  
>"Hi" he mumbled.<br>"What's wrong?" she asked.  
>"Nothing...I'm just trying to think of someone who Sirius could go out with" he replied, repeating the words the others had drummed into his head.<br>"Oh, right" she answered, sounding uninterested as she turned the page in her book.  
>"I still think you should date him" he said after a moments pause.<br>She looked up, a bemused expression on her face. "Why?" she asked.  
>"uh...well I think that...you two would make a good couple...because, you're good friends" he struggled for words.<br>"That doesn't mean we have to date" she replied, turning back to her book.  
>"Would you date him though, you know, if he asked you?" he asked.<br>Eleniel gave Peter a sharp look. "Did Sirius set you up to ask me that?" she asked.  
>Peter quickly shook his head. "Nooooo...I was just wondering" he bluffed. "I suggested you yesterday...you know, when we were all suggesting people, do you remember?"<br>Eleniel shrugged. "Whatever" she replied.  
>"But would you?" Peter persisted.<br>Eleniel made a face. "I don't know. Yes. No. Maybe." she said with a quiet laugh.  
>Peter considered her answer in silence for a few minutes. "So you don't know?" he asked eventually.<br>"What?" she asked, looking up from her book again. "Oh right, no, I don't know"  
>Peter inwardly groaned. This task was a lot more difficult than Sirius had initially presented it. <em>What had Sirius told him to ask if Eleniel got a bit suspicious? <em>By the time he remembered what he was supposed to say, he'd been sitting in silence for several minutes and Eleniel, having finished reading, had gone to put the book away.  
>Peter looked up just in time to see her disappearing out of the door.<br>He tore after her, receiving a glare from Madam Pince as he passed.  
>He caught up with Eleniel (who was heading back to the common room) halfway down the corridor.<br>"Hey! Wait!" he wheezed, out of breath by the brief jog.  
>She raised her eyebrows. "Why are you following me?" she asked.<br>Peter caught his breath. "Cause, I can't think of anyone who Sirius could date, and I thought that you might have some ideas" he told her.  
>"Well I've already said, other than Molly or Alice, I can't think of anyone" she replied, continuing to walk away from him.<br>Peter followed her. "Can you not think of anyone else?" he persisted.  
>She scowled. "All I can think of right now is how much you're annoying me" she said shortly.<br>He continued to scuttle after her. "Sirius wants a girlfriend" he babbled.  
>"That's Sirius problem. So why don't you go and annoy him about it?" she hissed.<br>"Because, you're one of his closest friends, so I was hoping you might have some ideas" he told her.  
>Eleniel rolled her eyes. "And I've told you. I. don't. know." she told him frostily.<br>As they entered the Gryffindor common room, Peter asked "are you sure?"  
>"Peter, if you don't shut up, you're going to find yourself in a lot of pain" she warned.<br>"Well I was just wondering..." he began.  
>Eleniel pressed her wand to his throat. "Well stop wondering. Right. Now." she snapped.<br>She began to walk up to her dorm.  
>Peter attempted to follow her, but there was a blue flash of light and he bounced backwards, landing on his butt.<br>A crowd was beginning to gather, laughing as Peter called up the staircase "will you keep thinking?"  
>"Get lost Peter!" Eleniel hollered back.<br>"I'll tell Sirius you're trying to think of someone" he yelled back.  
>There was a flash of red light and purple boils began to erupt all over Peter's face.<br>Just then, Sirius, Remus and James entered the common room. They started to laugh at the sight of Peter.  
>Remus took pity on him and removed the hex as James managed to stop laughing long enough to ask "so, I'm guessing it didn't go too well...am I right?"<p> 


	14. A Failing Plan

"So what did she say?" Sirius was rapidly losing what little patience he had with Peter.  
>"She said she didn't know" Peter mumbled.<br>Sirius groaned. "You're hopeless!" he announced, adding "It wasn't a difficult task!"  
>"She suspects you sent me to ask her" Peter squeaked.<br>"What?" Sirius, Remus and James exclaimed in unison.  
>Peter repeated himself.<br>"I'm doomed. It's over. The plan has failed...and it's all James's fault" Sirius groaned, dramatically throwing himself onto his bed.  
>"What? How is it my fault?" James asked indignantly.<br>"You said the plan would fail if Ellie suspected anything...you jinxed it!" Sirius accused his friend.  
>Remus rolled his eyes at the theatrics of his friend. "Sirius, the world isn't ending" he reminded him.<br>"It might as well be...now I'm never going to know if Ellie likes me or not" Sirius whined.  
>The others chuckled. "It's Remus's turn tomorrow, he'll probably do a better job" James reminded him, in an attempt to cheer him up.<br>"It won't work!" Sirius wailed.  
>"What won't work?" Eleniel asked curiously. The four boys jumped, turning around to see Eleniel leaning against the doorframe. "What won't work?" she repeated.<br>"Nothing" they all said quickly.  
>Eleniel laughed. "And you all go mad with me if I have a secret..." she teased.<br>The boys looked at each other nervously.  
>"Why do you all look so guilty?" she asked. "Apart from Peter, who has done my head in all afternoon, I don't see what you've done."<br>Quick-thinking Remus was the first to speak. "Sirius was whining about not having a girlfriend again, and we knew that Peter had annoyed you, so we'd agreed not to mention it to you again" he explained.  
>Eleniel didn't look convinced, but shrugged and said "whatever" before she sat down next to James.<br>James turned to her and asked "any ideas about me and Evans?"  
>Eleniel laughed. "You could always start by calling her Lily, she hates it when you call her Evans" she told him.<br>He looked cheerful. "Thanks Ellie, anything else?" he asked.  
>Eleniel thought for a few minutes. "Erm...you could try and be a bit nicer to Severus" she suggested.<br>James and the others looked disgusted by the suggestion.  
>"Well, Severus is friends with Lily, so she's not going to want to date you if you're horrible to her other friends" she told him, sneaking a glance at Sirius who looked thoughtful.<br>James sighed. "I'm not going to be nice to Snivellus" he said firmly.  
>Eleniel shrugged. "Suit yourself" she told him. "Erm...you could try and appear a bit more interested in your school-work" she said thoughtfully.<br>"Why?" he asked.  
>"Because, Lily cares quite a lot about her work, so she's not likely to date someone who just messes about, especially because she already thinks you're a bad influence!"<br>"What? She thinks I'm a bad influence, on who?" James asked, smirking.  
>"She thinks you're all a bad influence, expect Remus, and she thinks you're a bad influence on me and Remus" Eleniel laughed.<br>James looked torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to find out more. "So..how can I change that?" he asked.  
>"You could try coming to the library with me and Remus" Eleniel suggested.<br>James looked horrified. "Not the library..." he whispered.  
>Eleniel and the others laughed. "You asked" Eleniel reminded him.<br>"But the library..." James groaned. "It's so boring!"  
>Eleniel laughed. "It can be" she allowed. "But just think how impressed Lily would be if she saw <em>James Potter <em>doing his homework on time!"  
>"You really think so?" James asked eagerly.<br>Eleniel nodded. "Yeah" she replied.  
>Before any of them could speak, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" they all yelled.<br>Arthur Weasley stuck his head around the door. "Is Eleniel in here?" he asked hesitantly.  
>"Yeah, I'm over here" Eleniel called, "What's wrong Arthur?"<br>Before he could reply, Sirius spat out "What do you want her for, Weasley?"  
>Arthur looked anxious. "Molly and Lily asked me to come and look for you, they said you were going to go to the library with them" he explained to Eleniel.<br>"Oh sugar." Eleniel got to her feet. "I completely forgot! Thanks Arthur, tell them I'm just coming!" she said.  
>Arthur nodded and headed back down to the common room.<br>"I'll see you guys later" Eleniel told them. "Oh, and Sirius, don't talk to Arthur or **any **of my other friends like that, they've done nothing to you, and I might have to stop hanging out with you guys if you can't stop being so jealous!"  
>Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but Eleniel had already gone.<br>James and Remus started to laugh. "Weren't you listening to the love advice Ellie was giving James?" Remus asked.  
>Sirius sighed. "She's never going to want to go out with me now!" he grumbled.<br>"Well that was your fault!" James told him. "She said that if you want a girl to like you, you have to be nice to her friends, not just her!"  
>Sirius got up and stormed into the bathroom. "I'm going to have a shower" he said sulkily, slamming the door behind him.<br>The others looked at each other and started to laugh.


	15. Gossip

Eleniel rushed into the common room where she found Lily and Molly impatiently waiting for her.  
>"Finally!" Molly teased.<br>"I guess you like those boys better than us..." Lily said, faking hurt.  
>As they headed out of the common room, Lily asked "so what was the emergency this time?"<br>"Sirius wanted love advice" Eleniel replied.  
>Lily and Molly exchanged a look.<br>"What?" Eleniel asked curiously.  
>"Are you two dating yet?" Molly asked with a mischievous grin.<br>"What? No! Why does everyone think I should date Sirius Black?" Eleniel exclaimed, a little too loudly. Her sister, Indis was passing with several of her friends. She stopped and came over to her younger sister. "Because everyone can see that he has a crush on you" she said quietly, smirking.  
>Eleniel made a face. "Whatever Indy. Haven't you got somewhere you need to be?" she asked with a pointed look in the direction her sister had been heading.<br>Indis laughed. "See you around sis" she called, walking away.  
>"Yeah, yeah, same you" Eleniel muttered.<br>Molly and Lily were giving her identical smirks. "Stop it you two, you look like Malfoy and it's creepy!" Eleniel warned them.  
>They laughed. "See, everyone know that Sirius Black has a major crush on you!" Molly teased.<br>"Everyone except you" Lily added with a grin.  
>Eleniel rolled her eyes. "I still don't think he does" she sighed.<br>"If he asked you, what would you say?" Lily asked.  
>"Lils, seriously? I thought you hated him!" Eleniel exclaimed.<br>Lily shrugged. "I do. But he makes you happy, so I'm willing to put up with him...besides, I think you could change him, you know, make him halfway decent..." she replied.  
>Eleniel looked surprised. "That's really sweet Lils" she answered.<br>"Thanks" Lily grinned. "But that doesn't answer my question!"  
>Eleniel sighed. "Come on guys, you can't expect me to answer that!" she protested.<br>"Come on Ellie, it's a yes/no question!" Molly encouraged.  
>"I don't know guys...maybe?" she shrugged. "He's a good friend, I've never considered dating him..."<br>Molly and Lily turned to her, with equally cheesy grins. "Omigosh! You totally would date him!" Molly squealed.  
>Eleniel blushed. "Keep it down will you!" she hissed.<br>Lily was beaming. "I knew it" she exclaimed.  
>"Hey, listen though" Eleniel said.<br>Lily and Molly quietened down.  
>"I won't date him unless he asks me himself" she warned. "If he sends one of his friends to ask me, I won't even consider it, so you two can stop planning our future wedding and baby names! It's in his hands now!"<br>Molly and Lily were still beaming as they walked into the library. "I'm betting he'll ask you before we break up for Christmas..." Lily whispered.  
>"But that's only two weeks away!" Eleniel hissed, startled.<br>"Exactly!" Molly and Lily whispered together.


	16. One Final Attempt

A/N: Hope you all like this next chapter! I'll upload the next one ASAP.  
>Just to let you know, I've written a On-Shot featuring the characters of James, Lily, Remus, Sirius and Eleniel.<br>It's called "One-Shot: 15 Years Forward" and can be found on my profile (it has the same cover image as this story). I would really appreciate it if you would read it and give me some feedback!  
>That's all from me until the next update...byeee<p>

"Remus, I'm counting on you mate" Sirius told his friend.  
>Looking up, Remus saw that <em>Sirius Black<em> of all people, was looking nervous. "I'll do my best" he promised his friend.  
>Sirius frowned. "What if she says she wouldn't date me?" he fretted.<br>"Siriusly mate...stop panicking!"James said with a grin.  
>They all grinned at the "Sirius" joke. "No I mean it though, panicking isn't going to make her say yes!" James told his friend.<br>Sirius sighed. "Okay okay..." he muttered as Remus headed out of the dorm.

As he had known he would, Remus found Eleniel in the astronomy tower, examining the posters displayed on the walls as she wrote out her astronomy essay.  
>"Hey" he said quietly, sitting down opposite her.<br>She jumped. "Oh...hi Remus" she said, looking up with a startled expression.  
>"Sorry" he said with an apologetic smile.<br>She smiled back. "That's okay" she replied. She silently observed him for a few seconds before asking "What's wrong?"  
>Remus shook his head. "Nothing" he replied quickly...a little too quickly.<br>She frowned. "Remus..." she said quietly. "Tell me what's wrong"  
>Remus rolled his eyes. "You'll only get annoyed if I tell you" he told her.<br>She laughed. "Has Sirius still not got himself a girlfriend?" she asked.  
>Remus shook his head. "He's driving us all mad!" he exclaimed.<br>"Well, I'm all out of ideas" she said with a shrug. "Obviously, it can't be Lily because she can't stand him..._And James has a crush on her.." _she mentally added. "It can't be Alice because she's apparently _too close _to Frank, and it can't be Molly because he says she's too bossy." Eleniel sighed. "He's too picky, I mean, he won't even date someone from another house...he's insistent that they have to be a Gryffindor! I wouldn't be surprised if he's drawn up a list of requirements which she has to have!"  
>Remus chuckled. "<em>Oh he already knows who he wants" <em>he thought to himself.  
>Eleniel looked curious. "Who does he want?" she asked.<br>Remus swore. "I said that out loud didn't I?" he asked in dismay.  
>She nodded, grinning as she said "Come on, tell me...I won't tell him that I know...or who told me!"<br>He shook his head. "I can't" he said firmly.  
>"Why not?" she pestered.<br>"Because I can't" he repeated.  
>"But why?" she whined.<br>"Because..." he looked at her pleading, puppy-dog eyes and gave in. "Because it's you" he said softly.  
>Her eyes widened in shock.<br>Remus was watching her closely as she considered the news he had just broken to her.  
>"Really?" she asked.<br>Remus nodded. "Yep." he confirmed. "He never shuts up about you...it gets kind of annoying when you're trying to sleep and he's laid at the other side of the room telling us all about how you have the bluest eyes he's ever seen or whatever!" he told her, making a face.  
>She rolled her eyes. "Hmmm" she said thoughtfully.<br>"If he asked you to date him...what would your reaction be?" he asked.  
>She scowled. "He set you lot up to ask me that...DIDN'T HE?" she asked fiercely.<br>Remus winced at her tone. "He wanted to know if you liked him back because he didn't want to look like an idiot asking you out and getting turned down" he explained hastily.  
>Eleniel's scowl faded slightly. "Sirius actually does have a crush on me?" she asked.<br>Remus nodded.  
>She sighed. "That means Molly, Lily and my sisters were right" she muttered.<br>"What do you mean?" Remus asked.  
>"They've been trying to set me up with him ever since just before half term, but I didn't think he saw me as anything other than a friend, so I refused to listen to them" she muttered.<br>Remus grinned. "So if he asked you...you'd say yes?" he asked swiftly.  
>She bit her lip. "Yes" she admitted quietly. "But..." she said quickly, causing Remus's grin to fade into an anxious look. "Only if he actually asked me, you know instead of sending someone else to do his dirty work" she gave Remus a pointed look.<br>Remus laughed. "I'm sure he would ask you himself" he replied., getting to his feet. "I've got to go, I promised to help Peter with his Potions essay" he lied, heading out of the door. "I'll see you around Ellie"  
>She smiled secretively. "Yeah okay, see you Remus."<br>As Remus walked away, a grin spread across her face. As soon as he had disappeared out of sight, she collected up her things and rushed off to find Molly and Lily.  
><em>Sirius likes me! Sirius likes me! <em>she thought happily to herself, walking up to her dorm with a new bounce in her step.


	17. Remus is ill

A/N: I've made a change to the first chapter which will have an effect on a future chapter, please read it!  
>Anyway...onwards to the story!<p>

It was a Thursday evening.  
>"Remus, are you okay?" Eleniel asked over a game of wizard chess.<br>Sirius came out of the bathroom, barefoot and dressed in baggy jeans and an old T-shirt, his hair wet and mussed up from his shower. He overheard Eleniel's comment. "She's got a point you know Remmy, you look paler than usual..." he pointed out.  
>"I'm fine" Remus said with a shrug.<br>James looked up from his Quidditch book. "You're not coming down with anything are you Remmy?" he asked in concern. "The Christmas holidays are coming up, you don't want to be ill for those!"  
>"I'm fine honestly guys, I'm just a little sleepy" he reassured them.<p>

The following Saturday...  
>"Guys I've got to go home for the weekend" Remus told Eleniel, Sirius, James and Peter.<br>"Why?" Peter asked immediately.  
>"You can't leave us Remus!" Sirius wailed dramatically.<br>"What's up Remus?" James asked.  
>"How long will you be gone?" Eleniel questioned.<br>Remus held up his hands. "Slow down with the questions! Give me chance to answer!" he exclaimed. "My mum's ill and so I promised I'd go home and see her. Dumbledore's given me permission and I should be back either Monday or Tuesday, depending on how bad she is" he told them.  
>"When are you going?" Eleniel asked.<br>"This evening" he replied.  
>They all looked miserable, but helped Remus to pack a small case to take home with him.<br>That evening...  
>Remus said goodbye to his friends and left his dorm. However, instead of heading towards the entrance hall, he headed to the hospital wing to meet Madam Pomfrey.<br>As the sun began to set, Madam Pomfrey lead Remus to the whomping willow, where Hagrid had opened the secret passageway leading to the shrieking shack.  
>Taking one last look at the darkening sky, Remus began to walk up the dark passageway.<br>A perfect full moon shone brightly in the sky that night, it's rays of moonlight softly filtering into the dorms of Sirius, James and Peter and Eleniel, Lily and Molly. The five of them slept peacefully, unaware of the physical and mental torment their friend was currently undergoing.


	18. Remus Returns

"Remus!" his friends exclaimed as he walked back into his dorm.  
>They all ran across the room, gathering him in a group hug.<br>"Hey guys" he choked.  
>Eleniel stepped back. "Okay guys, let him breathe!" she grinned, turning to Remus and saying "good to have you back Remmy!"<br>"So, how's your mum?" James asked, also stepping back.  
>"Better, she wasn't as bad as we first thought" Remus replied.<br>The others looked relieved and Remus couldn't help but feel guilty about lying to them. _It's for their own good. _He tried to persuade himself. _They'd be disgusted if they knew, they wouldn't want to be friends with me. _He couldn't let that happen. His friends meant too much to him...they couldn't find out, it would ruin him.  
>"We saved you this" Sirius told Remus, tossing him a bar of chocolate.<br>Grinning, Remus unwrapped it and shared it out. "Thanks guys" he said gratefully.  
>"So, anything interesting happen while I was away?" he asked.<br>The others shook their heads. "Nah, nothing out of the ordinary" James replied.  
>"We got that massive charms essay" Peter piped up.<br>The others groaned.  
>"He said anything <strong><em>interesting <em>**Peter!" James exclaimed in exasperation.  
>They all shook their heads despairingly at Peter, who looked thoroughly hurt by their looks.<p> 


	19. A Not So Sirius Weekend

"What exactly did Ellie say?" Sirius asked.  
>Remus groaned. "Sirius, it's the weekend, can't you let me sleep?" he whined.<br>"Nope!" Sirius said brightly. "Now get up!"  
>Grumbling to himself, Remus dragged himself out of bed and slowly got dressed.<br>"Are you going to tell me?" Sirius pestered.  
>Remus stifled a yawn. "If I tell you, will you let me sleep in next weekend?" he bargained.<br>Sirius sighed. "Fine. Now what else did she say?" Sirius asked quickly.  
>Remus thought for a moment. "Erm...that she wouldn't even consider dating you if you sent one of us to ask her instead of asking her yourself" he replied.<br>Sirius shrugged. "Well I'd have done that anyway" he told him.  
>"Sirius mate, I don't know if Ellie told Remus this, but I think she'd probably prefer it if it was just the two of you when you asked her, otherwise she'd probably just feel pressured" James added helpfully, as he came back in after his early morning shower.<br>Sirius stored that information for further use. "Okay, so not in public, just the two of us" he muttered.  
>"Look Sirius, don't overdo it, just keep things simple, that's all she'll want" Remus advised him.<br>Sirius nodded, repeating the advice under his breath. "Hey, maybe I should write this down!" he exclaimed.  
>Remus and James face-palmed.<br>"Hey, I'm Sirius!" he said indignantly.  
>"We know you're Sirius, Sirius" James chuckled.<br>Sirius stuck his tongue out at James.  
>"The Sirius jokes again? Really guys?" Eleniel giggled from the doorway.<br>The boys turned to look at her, looking amused.  
>"Come on you three, I thought we were going to explore the grounds a bit more today? It is Saturday, remember" she reminded them.<br>Sirius brightened up. "Yeah we were!" he exclaimed. "Lets go!"  
>Laughing, they all headed outside, wandering around the grounds of Hogwarts until it was almost time for lunch.<p>

As they headed back to the castle for lunch, they decided to play chase. Sirius was "it" and, laughing the others ran ahead of him.  
>He caught Eleniel's arm. "You lose" he murmured in her ear.<br>She giggled, smiling at him. "This time" she shrugged.  
>As they all walked the remainder of the way together, they passed Lily and Severus.<br>"Alright Snivellus" Sirius greeted the boy he hated most in the entire school.  
>"Leave him alone Black" Lily snapped.<br>"Sirius" Eleniel hissed warningly.  
>"He's not worth it Lil, he's just a arrogant prat" Severus scoffed.<br>James glared at Severus. "Go back to your slimy dungeon, you filthy Slytherin" he spat.  
>"Get lost Potter" Lily snapped.<br>Severus pulled out his wand in a threatening manner.  
>Sirius and James retaliated by pulling out their own wands.<br>"Right that's enough! All of you!" Eleniel exclaimed, standing in between the three boys. "Lower your wands!" When none of the boys moved, she snarled "NOW!"  
>Slowly and reluctantly, the three boys put away their wands.<br>"Lily, Snape. Go" Eleniel instructed them.  
>As they hurried away, Eleniel turned back to the boys. "What was that about?" Eleniel asked James and Sirius, looking disgusted.<br>"He started it!" they protested in unison.  
>"No. You're all responsible, but come on, lets just go for dinner and forget about it" she sighed in defeat.<br>As they walked up to the castle, Eleniel still looked disapproving.  
>"Look, we're sorry Ellie" Sirius promised her.<br>"Honest" James added.  
>She gave them a half smile. "Alright, lets just forget about it" she told them.<br>They nodded and they carried on up to the castle, laughing like normal.


	20. Exploring

"I'm bored..."  
>Eleniel, Remus and James sighed as Sirius continued to whinge.<br>"We'll it's alright for you!" he exclaimed.  
>"What do you mean?" Eleniel asked.<br>"Well, you're writing whatever it is that you're writing, Remus, you're reading, Peter's staring into space...and James, you're doing your hair...AND I'M BORED!" he suddenly yelled.  
>The other four jumped.<br>"Merlin's beard Sirius!" James yelped in shock.  
>Eleniel rolled up the parchment she had been writing on. "Okay guys, any ideas on what to do?" she asked.<br>Remus closed his book. "Well actually, yes" he answered.  
>They all turned to him, looking interested.<br>He held up his copy of Hogwarts, A History, which he had been reading. "Apparently there are secret passages in Hogwarts, which have never been recorded" he told them.  
>Eleniel nodded. "There are" she confirmed.<br>They turned to look at her.  
>"Do you know where any of them are?" Peter asked warily. He still didn't trust her after she had hexed him...he had had to wait until Remus had stopped laughing enough to say the counter-spell-Sirius and James had been helpless laughing at him...<br>She looked thoughtful. "Well, Larrel and Caspian did mention one..." she began.  
>Sirius caught hold of her wrist, looking excited. "Tell us!" he begged.<br>She laughed. They said it was in the corridor where that one-eyed witch statue is, but that's all they said, it was just a short conversation." she replied.  
>The four boys got to their feet.<br>"Where're we going?" she asked.  
>"To search for the secret passageway!" James exclaimed.<br>She laughed and followed them out of their dorm.  
>They searched the corridor for what felt like hours, but found nothing.<br>"I'm hungry!" James announced.  
>"No surprises there" Eleniel chuckled.<br>James stuck his tongue out at her as he asked "what time is it?"  
>"Time you got a watch" Remus muttered.<br>"Don't you get sassy with me Lupin!" James exclaimed, playfully punching Remus on the shoulder.  
>However, his expression turned despairing as he realised there were three hours to get through before Sunday lunch.<br>"Look, why don't we just go to the kitchens?" Eleniel suggested.  
>"How?" Peter asked.<br>"My brothers mentioned tickling a pear in a portrait" she answered.

Half an hour later...  
>They managed to get into the kitchens, almost falling over a group of house elves as they practically fell through the portrait hole. As they were lead to a well-scrubbed wooden table to eat, Sirius made Eleniel write to her brothers, asking for specific details regarding the secret passageway.<p>

Later, as they sent Eleniel's letter, via one of the owls in the owlry, Sirius impatiently watched it vanish into the distance. "Your brothers had better write back quickly" he muttered, making the others laugh.


	21. Breakfast

A/N: I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating very much! I promise you, I have a lot of chapter already written for Halloween and the build up to Christmas! They are already typed up and are currently hidden so that I can simply unhide (is that even a word?) them on the dates which I have decided to upload them on. I have also set reminders On my iPod so that I won't forget to update! I've made a promise to myself to try and update at least once a week and this update will probably be on a Friday.  
>Thank you to everyone who has read and or commented on this fan-fiction and thank you for bearing with me!<br>Now, enough from me...onward to the chapter!

It was breakfast, the following morning.  
>"Morning Ellie!" Indis called to her younger sister as she headed past her with several of her friends.<br>"Morning Indy!" Eleniel called back, grinning.  
>As Molly, Lily and Eleniel wandered along the corridor, in no great hurry to reach the Great Hall, Aredhel also passed them, arm-in-arm with her boyfriend (a half-blood called Christopher), and called good morning to her youngest sister.<br>As Eleniel and her friends walked down the corridor towards the Great Hall, they passed Peeves, who was getting a severe scolding from the Bloody Baron. Nearly-Headless-Nick greeted the three girls with his usual trick of pulling his head off at an angle rather than tipping his hat.  
>Giggling, Eleniel, Molly and Lily headed across to the Gryffindor table and found empty seats. They had just stopped laughing when Remus, James, Sirius and Peter came in.<br>The four boys sat down opposite them, much to the disgust of Lily and the amusement of Molly and Eleniel.  
>Lily was about to move further down the table, away from the boys, when Molly gave her a stern look and said "Lily, remember your promise!"<br>Sighing, Lily sank back down onto the bench.  
>The four boys looked interested.<br>"What promise?" James asked curiously.  
>"None of your business Potter" Lily snapped.<br>Molly and Eleniel exchanged a despairing look, which only Remus noticed (and was greatly puzzled by).  
>Everyone was distracted however when an eagle owl landed on Eleniel's shoulder. Laughing, she took the envelope (which was addressed to her) from it's beak. She fed it an owl treat from the pocket of her robes before it flew off with a soft flutter of wings.<br>"Is it from your brothers?" Sirius asked, before she'd even had chance to open the envelope.  
>"At least let her open it!" Remus chuckled.<br>"It probably is..." Eleniel replied. "Screech is Caspian's owl...unless Lassiel borrowed him, which she never does because she has her own owl..."  
>Peter looked up from his toast. "What's her owl called?" he asked.<br>Sirius groaned. "Peter! No one cares! We just want to know who the letter is from!"  
>Eleniel looked disapproving. "Well I care about my sister's owl, thank you very much!" she retorted. Turning to Peter, she told him "Aredhel's owl is called Flash"<br>Sirius looked like a child who had just received a scolding. "Sorry El" he muttered.  
>Lily and Molly gave Eleniel a knowing look, which she purposely chose to ignore. Slowly and deliberately, she opened the envelope and took out the letter. Silently, she read it, before handing it to Remus (who was sitting opposite her), a smile spreading across her face...<p> 


	22. Study Hour

Sirius, we're supposed to be finishing that Potions essay!" Remus exclaimed.  
>"Yeah, you know, the one that's due in tomorrow!" Eleniel added.<br>Sirius ignored them, striding down the corridor ahead of them.  
>"Sirius Black! Turn around and listen to me right now!" Eleniel growled.<br>Sirius stopped in his tracks and hastily turned to face her.  
>"Look, if you do your potions essay and let us finish ours, then we can all go and search for the secret passageway together!" she told him.<br>He looked defeated. "Fine" he mumbled.  
>Eleniel looked relieved that he had actually listened to her. "Come on" she called, walking back to the common room ahead of them.<br>"Will you give me a hand with the Potions essay please El?" James asked.  
>She nodded. "Yeah, sure" she agreed, asking "have you started it?"<br>To her surprise, he nodded. "Yeah, but I've only written a paragraph!" he replied.  
>Peter looked hopeful. "Can I copy your Potions essay please Remus?" he asked.<br>Remus rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Fine" he agreed.

A Little While Later...  
>"Okay, so we're all finished now, so can we go and look for that secret passageway?" Sirius asked hopefully.<br>The others agreed and before long, they were all standing in front of the one-eyed witch statue.  
>After muttering the spell mentioned by Eleniel's brothers, they managed to climb into the secret passageway. They discovered where the passageway led to and began plotting...<p> 


	23. Halloween's Approaching!

"Guys, do you know what holiday it is in two weeks?" Sirius asked, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.  
>"It's Halloween" Peter piped up.<br>"Exactly. It's Halloween in two weeks" Sirius' eyes glittered wickedly.  
>"Uh oh. I don't trust that look Sirius Black" Eleniel laughed.<br>"Why does it matter if it's Halloween in two weeks?" Remus asked curiously.  
>"Remus my dear friend, Halloween provides the perfect opportunity for us to come up with a super-awesome prank to play in front of the whole school!" Sirius explained patiently.<br>They all sat up, suddenly looking more interested.  
>"So, what're you thinking?" James asked.<br>"I'm thinking, something big...in front of the whole school!" Sirius answered.  
>"Sounds awesome!" Eleniel and James said in unison.<br>"But we need to make sure that we don't get caught" Remus cautioned.  
>Sirius gave a wicked grin. "Oh we won't get caught" he replied confidently.<br>They put their heads together to come up with the ultimate plan.  
>Half an hour later, they split up to go and collect several...select items...<br>Upon their return to the boys' dorm, Eleniel made a list of all the items they had managed to collect:

A Step-to-Step Guide: Telepathic Spells (Borrowed from Indis)

5 Buckets (Stolen from Filch's Storeroom)

An Invisibility Cloak (Passed down to James by his father)

A Do-It-Yourself Guide: Duplicating Spells (Borrowed from Lily)

Sniggering, they stashed the items at the bottom of James' trunk, concealing them with a disillusionment charm (courtesy of Remus).  
>"This Halloween is gonna be totally awesome!" Sirius exclaimed.<br>The other four couldn't help but agree with him...


	24. Exciting News!

It was lunch. Eleniel, Molly and Lily arrived in the Great Hall just in time to see Sirius and James draw their wands and point them at Severus. Remus and Peter were standing to one side, looking despairing.  
>The three girls rushed over. "What in the name of Godric is going on?" Molly demanded.<br>"They threatened me" Severus whined.  
>Lily looked enraged. "What did you say to him Potter?" she snarled.<br>Eleniel sighed. "Look, all of you just calm down" she told them. She turned to Remus and asked "what happened?"  
>Remus sighed. "Snape walked into James and made out it was James' fault" he explained.<br>Molly rolled her eyes. "Grow up Severus!" she exclaimed.  
>"I'm disappointed in you Sev" Lily looked disapproving.<br>Eleniel slipped an arm each around James and Sirius' shoulders. "Come on guys, just ignore him" she told them, leading them across to the Gryffindor table, with Severus Snape scowling after them.  
>At the end of the meal, Professor McGonnagol got to her feet. "Can I have your attention please?" she called out.<br>Everyone fell silent, turning to face the Professors.  
>Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. "As most of you know, the holiday of Halloween is a week on Friday..." he began.<br>James and Sirius exchanged wicked grins.  
>"...and I am pleased to announce that the ancient tradition of the Halloween ball will once more be taking place at this school on Halloween evening!" Dumbledore announced.<br>There was a ripple of murmurings amongst the students and Dumbledore cleared his throat to get their attention once more.  
>The students once again fell silent.<br>"Now, despite it's name, the Halloween Ball is an informal dance. Students are invited to dress in Halloween outfits and arrive in friendship groups. For more information, I advise you to speak to your heads of houses" Dumbledore added, his eyes twinkling.  
>"Now off you go to lessons!" he announced.<p>

As they filed out of the Great Hall, Molly, Lily and Eleniel headed to the Gryffindor common room, followed by Sirius, Remus, James and Peter. They all had a free hour.  
>The three girls headed up to their dorm, talking excitedly.<br>"I bet Sirius will want you to go to the ball with him" Lily exclaimed.  
>Eleniel rolled her eyes. "Lily, it's a group thing, not a couple thing" she said patiently.<br>Lily giggled. "I know, but he'll want you to go in a group with them four, you know he will!" she replied confidently.  
>"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Eleniel muttered, beginning to hunt through her trunk for a book.<br>After a few minutes, Molly asked, "so what are you going to wear?"  
>"Erm...probably a black cat costume" Eleniel shrugged.<br>"Why?" Lily asked.  
>Eleniel smirked. "It's kinda a family tradition" she replied. "When we were little kids, our parents used to take us trick-or-treating, you know, like muggle children do...and one year my brothers took us instead. We were walking down this dark street and a black cat jumped out of a garden in front of me. I was quite young and I screamed the street down! So it's become a tradition that every year we get dressed up for Halloween, and I dress up as a black cat!"<br>Molly and Lily laughed.  
>"Okay, now I'm imaging you screaming at that poor cat!" Lily giggled.<br>"There's a great image to cheer you up if you're ever having a bad day!" Molly sniggered.  
>Eleniel laughed with them. "Thinking back, it does seem pretty hilarious..." she agreed. "But no one needs to know about this, okay?"<br>"Okay" Molly and Lily agreed, still giggling.


	25. Halloween's Here!

"Wake up you four!" Eleniel called, standing in the doorway of the boys' dorm.  
>Sirius sat bolt upright. "What's the emergency?" he asked. "We're not out of conditioner are we? Oh my Godric! We're out of conditioner ! We're all gonna die!" he began to panic.<br>James, Remus and Peter all sat up in bed, sleepily rubbing their eyes and yawning.  
>"Sirius! Shut up! We've got plenty of conditioner!" Eleniel hollered over Sirius' yelling.<br>"We're not?" he asked in confusion.  
>"No" she said shortly.<br>He sighed and fell back against the pillows. "All that panicking for nothing" he sighed.  
>"Guys have you forgotten what day it is?" Eleniel asked impatiently.<br>They all thought for a moment, trying to wrack their sleepy brains. "It's Halloween!" Remus exclaimed suddenly.  
>"Well done" Eleniel muttered sarcastically.<br>"It's here! It's finally here!" Sirius jumped out of bed and began dancing around the room in excitement.  
>Laughing, Eleniel headed across to the door. "Get up and dressed you four, we've got a lot to do before this evening" she reminded them.<p>

That afternoon...  
>"So, do we all know what we need to do?" Eleniel asked.<br>The four boys nodded.  
>"Yes Professor" Sirius smirked.<br>She playfully punched his arm. "Just remember not to laugh" she sighed.

At teatime...  
>"So I hope that you will all be ready at 7pm for your Halloween Ball!" Professor Dumbledore announced, beaming around the Great Hall.<br>The students grinned excitedly.  
>Suddenly, red letters began forming in the air, in the centre of the hall:<br>_Oh yes, we're really looking forward to it..._  
>The students began to murmur amongst themselves and the Professors looked alarmed.<br>With a small cloud of glitter, the letters began to change:  
><em>There's no need for alarm, we simply want to wish you all a very spooky Halloween! <em>  
>Like the rest of the school, Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and Eleniel were looking confused, however a secretive smirk was being exchanged between them. Remus was staring intently at the words, which were swiftly rearranging themselves once more:<br>_Enjoy your Ball! Let us hope that there are no...unexpected occurrences! _  
>Professor McGonnagol got to her feet. "Does anyone have any information on these...these marauders?" she demanded.<br>The students were silent. Out of the corner of her eye, Eleniel sneaked a glance at Sirius and James. Their faces were completely blank, however she could practically see the cogs whirring in their brains.  
>"The Marauders...I like the sound of that name..." James whispered as the students resumed their chatter and began leaving the Great Hall.<br>Suddenly, screams began to echo from the doorway. Buckets were appearing in the air and emptying their icy water over the students passing through the door.  
>The students who were still seated in the hall, collapsed laughing.<br>Remus and the others were in stitches. "I completely forgot that we'd rigged that up!" Remus chuckled quietly.  
>"Okay that was AMAZING" Peter exclaimed gleefully.<br>They waited until no more water was being thrown before leaving the Great Hall.  
>When they reached the Gryffindor Common room, they all headed up to the boys' dorm.<br>"We did it!" Eleniel exclaimed happily.  
>"And no one even suspects that it was us!" Remus added in a low voice.<br>"Think of all the pranks we could get away with now!" James' eyes were wide just thinking of all the possibilities.  
>"I'd better go and get ready, I'll meet you in the common room at 6:30!" Eleniel told them, vanishing back down the stairs.<br>"Come on then guys! We'd better get ready!" Sirius exclaimed.

At 6:30...  
>Finally the girls were ready.<br>Lily was wearing a black dress, patterned with skulls and roses and had her face painted to look like a skeleton. Molly was wearing a long, purple and black dress with a silver crown and scary looking make-up (to look like an evil queen). Eleniel, of course, was dressed as a black cat, wearing a skin-tight, black jumpsuit and her face painted to look like a cat.  
>As the three of them headed into the common room, they found Arthur Weasley waiting with the four male "marauders".<br>Arthur Weasley was dressed as a pumpkin and as she headed across to the other three, Eleniel could hear Molly teasing him about it.  
>"Hey gorgeous" Sirius smirked at Eleniel.<br>She glared back. "Watch it Black" she snapped.  
>Sirius grinned, revealing a set of extremely life-like vampire fangs to go with his black cape and plain black robes. James was wearing a pirates hat with a white shirt and baggy trousers tucked into boots. Remus was wearing ragged clothes and had his face painted to make him look like a zombie. And Peter...Peter was wearing a sheet with eyeholes cut in it over his head.<br>"Let's go partay!" James whooped.  
>As they reached the Great Hall, they spotted Severus Snape waiting for Lily.<br>Sirius was about to make a smart remark, but Eleniel swiftly elbowed him in the ribs.  
>"We'll catch up with you guys later" Lily told them, hastily dragging Severus away.<br>Molly waved as she and Arthur headed across to get drinks.  
>The remaining five headed out onto the dance floor, laughing as they danced to the Weird Sisters' latest hit song.<br>Several hours later...  
>Sirius, Remus, James and Peter were sat at a table, drinking Halloween juice as they watched Eleniel, Molly and Lily dancing.<br>Finally, the three girls headed over to sit with them. They were quickly joined by Arthur Weasley and Severus Snape (who sat as far away from Sirius and James as he could).  
>"I've been thinking..." Sirius began.<br>"What about?" Peter asked warily, Sirius' ideas often led to trouble.  
>"Why don't we all sneak out and go trick-or-treating?" Sirius suggested.<br>Molly, Lily and Eleniel looked excited. "Sounds fun" Molly agreed.  
>"But Snape can't come" Sirius warned.<br>Eleniel and Molly shrugged. "Fine by me" they said at the same time.  
>Lily looked slightly put out, but remembered all the times Severus had tried to get Sirius and the others into trouble. "I think maybe they're right Sev, maybe you should hang out with the Slytherins" she said reluctantly.<br>Severus glared round at the Gryffindors, even Lily, before stomping away.  
>"Are you coming too Arthur?" Molly asked.<br>Arthur nodded, his eyes shining. "I wouldn't miss it for the world" he told them.  
>They rushed down the corridor to where the secret passageway was located. After Molly, Lily and Arthur had sworn not to give away the location of the passageway to anyone, Sirius muttered the spell.<br>Minutes later, they were running down the dark corridor, giggling and whispering quietly.  
>As they emerged, sniggering, into the quiet village of Hogsmeade, Remus suggested that they started trick-or-treating at the far end of the village.<br>"Will we even get anything?" Lily asked.  
>"Course we will! My parents used to bring me trick-or-treating in Hogsmeade all the time when I was a kid, I always got loads of sweets!" James answered, grinning.<br>Later...  
>Laughing, they tumbled back through the portrait hole and headed up to Remus, Sirius, James and Peter's dorm. They emptied their trick-or0treat goodies out onto the floor and began to share them out equally. They all accumulated a total of 3 Sickles, 4 Knuts and a variety of sweets which they swapped amongst themselves. Lily, Molly, Eleniel and Arthur remained in the dorm of the other 4 for an hour, playing exploding snap and sharing sweets.<br>Eventually, the three girls got to their feet.  
>"We're gonna head across to our dorm now" Lily told the boys as she stifled a yawn.<br>"But we've had a great time, thanks" Molly added.  
>"We'll see you lot tomorrow" Eleniel finished as they headed out.<br>They turned back as they reached the doorway. "Happy Halloween!" they chorused, grinning.


	26. Remember, Remember the 5th November

A/N:  
>Hey guys, I'm really extremely sorry about how long it has taken me to actually post this chapter (almost a month!) Hopefully, I'll be able to update more regularly in the build up to Christmas (I know, I keep saying this).<br>Oh and I had to make up the names for Molly's parents, if anyone knows their real names, please leave a comment!  
>Anyway...Onwards to the chapter!<p>

-

Molly squealed with excitement as she read the letter she had just received from her parents.  
>Lily and Eleniel looked up from their books.<br>"What's up?" Eleniel asked.  
>My parents have invited you two to our family bonfire tomorrow night!" Molly told them.<br>"Are we allowed?" Lily asked.  
>Molly nodded. "Mum says Dumbledore has allowed it" she beamed. "We're getting sent via the Floo Network tomorrow morning, we'll stay overnight and then come back on Sunday afternoon"<br>"Awesome!" Lily and Eleniel grinned.

The following Saturday, the three girls woke up early. By the time Lily was packing her overnight bag, Eleniel was out of the door. "I'm just going to go and say bye to Sirius and the others" she told them.  
>"Oh dear me, Sirius will be pining away with you gone all weekend" Molly teased.<br>Eleniel stuck her tongue out at Molly. "What about poor Arthur?" she smirked.  
>Molly scowled. "Arthur and I are simply friends" she protested.<br>Eleniel gave a snort of disbelief. "Of course you are" she said sarcastically, ducking out of the door as Molly threw a pillow at her head.  
>A few minutes later, Eleniel returned.<br>"Said your fond farewells?" Lily enquired.  
>Eleniel pulled a face. "Yes thank you" she retorted. "Hadn't you best be off to say goodbye to dear Severus?"<br>"Sev and I aren't speaking at the moment" Lily admitted.  
>Molly and Eleniel looked concerned. "Do I need to go and hex him for you?" Molly asked.<br>Lily shook her head. "No, no it's fine!" she exclaimed.  
>"What happened?" Eleniel asked.<br>"He won't let it go that I went trick-or-treating with Sirius and you guys and so I told him to grow up and he went in a mood with me" Lily explained.  
>"Good for you Lils" Eleniel grinned. She secretly hated Snape, but would never bad-mouth him in front of her best friend...when she was with Sirius and the others however...<br>"Right guys, are you both ready?" Molly asked.  
>Lily and Eleniel nodded.<br>"Then let's go find McGonnagol!" Molly exclaimed.

Less than twenty minutes later, Molly, Lily and Eleniel were stepping out of the fireplace in a large, cluttered kitchen.  
>Mrs Prewett turned around from the stove, beaming. "Welcome!" she greeted them. "You must be Lily and Eleniel, Molly's told us so much about you!"<br>"Move over boys, let them sit down" Mr Prewett looked up from his newspaper. "Good morning girls" he smiled.  
>By lunchtime, the girls had helped to prepare most of the food for the evening. After a light lunch, they headed outside to help the twins collect wood for the bonfire.<br>"I'll just help Mum get out the plates and tablecloths, I'll meet you guys outside when Auntie Pamela arrives" Molly told Lily and Eleniel, who both nodded.  
>Fabian steered Eleniel towards the woods, whilst Gideon did the same with Lily...but in the opposite direction.<br>As Fabian and Eleniel walked, he said suddenly "you know, you remind me awfully of someone who was in my year at Hogwarts..."  
>Eleniel suddenly looked interested. "Did you just leave, this year?" she asked.<br>Fabian nodded. "Yeah, did you have a sister in that year or something?" he asked.  
>"Yeah, Lassiel Elwing" Eleniel replied.<br>"What? You're an Elwing?" Fabian asked.  
>Eleniel nodded, unsure of where this conversation was going.<br>"Wow there's no wonder you're so damn hot. All the Elwing girls are" Fabian gave a low whistle.  
>Eleniel looked slightly uncomfortable.<br>"Hey, it's a compliment" he told her, slipping an arm a round her tensed shoulders.  
>She backed away, but found herself tripping over a hidden tree root.<br>Fabian caught her and moved in to kiss her, but as his lips were millimetres away from her own, Eleniel gave a piercing scream.  
>He immediately pulled back. "I'm so sorry, please don't scream again" he begged.<br>She glared at him and stalked back the way they had just walked, leaving him to carry the wood.  
>Finding herself back in the garden, she spotted a familiar figure walking towards her.<br>"Lily?" she called.  
>As she reached her friend, they recounted extraordinarily similar stories.<br>"We don't tell Molly anything" Lily stated.  
>"Agreed" Eleniel nodded.<br>The two girls were incredibly wary for the rest of the weekend and were extremely relived when they returned to Hogwarts.  
>The three of them walked back into the Gryffindor common room together on Sunday afternoon.<br>Eleniel dumped her things in her dorm before heading straight up to the boys' dorm, where James, Sirius and Remus were playing exploding snap. The caterwauling coming from the bathroom told her that Peter was singing in the shower...again.  
>As she walked in, their faces lit up. She sat down next to Sirius and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back and she leant her head on his chest, feeling safe for the first time all weekend.<br>As she sat up, Remus and James gave her amused looks.  
>"Did you not miss us?" James asked, looking offended.<br>"Course I did" she replied, pulling James and Remus into a hug.  
>When she let them go, she got to her feet. "I need to go shower, my hair smells of bonfires" she told them. As she reached the doorway, she turned back. "I really did miss you guys" she said quietly.<br>"We missed you too Ellie" Sirius replied. "It just wasn't the same without you"  
>She smiled suddenly. "Thanks Siri...it, it means a lot to hear that" her eyes looked suspiciously shiny as she left.<p> 


	27. Joking Around

James, Sirius and Remus were in James's bedroom at the Potter's home, waiting for Eleniel to arrive.

"Siriusly mate, when are you going to ask her?" James asked.

Sirius sighed. "I don't know" he muttered.

As Remus opened his mouth to say something, the flames in James's fireplace burned bright green and Eleniel stepped out of them, shaking ash from her muggle clothes.

The three boys got up to greet her. She turned to them, laughing as Sirius (who was the first to reach her) gathered her in a hug. When Sirius put her down, Remus hugged her and then James.

"All ready to go then?" she asked.

"Yeah" they answered.

"Peter hasn't turned up I see" she commented.

"No, he's not coming, he sent us an owl" Remus explained.

"Maybe he's still scared incase you hex him again" Sirius joked.

They all laughed.

"I'm guessing Remus was the one who worked out the counter-spell" Eleniel said.

"Are you underestimating mine and James' abilities?" Sirius asked teasingly, pretending to look offended.

"No, I just knew that you two would have been helpless laughing at Peter!" she replied with a grin.

"Who us? What kind of cold-hearted people do you think we are?" James asked, pretending to be offended.

She laughed. "Remus, were they helpless laughing at Peter?" she asked.

"Yeah" Remus replied, chuckling at the memory.

Eleniel turned to Sirius and James with a smirk. "I rest my case" she told them.

James and the others laughed. "Come on then if we're going" Eleniel told them.

"It'd be easier if we could apparate…" Sirius sighed.

"Well none of us have passed our tests yet, and I don't fancy getting splinched, or reported to the ministry, so we'll have to use the Floo Network!" Remus pointed out.

Eleniel looked relieved. "At least someone around here has some common sense!" she exclaimed.

Sirius and James looked offended.

"I have plenty of common sense thank you very much!" James retorted.

Eleniel grinned. "Okay, maybe you have a little common sense Jamesie" she allowed, with a smirk.

Sirius looked enraged. "Excuse me?" he asked indignantly.

"Well you are very reckless Siri" Eleniel pointed out.

Sirius pulled a face. "Right, come on, let's go!" He caught hold of Eleniel's wrist and dragged her across to the fireplace, keeping a tight arm around her waist as he tossed Floo Powder into the fire grate, yelling out "Diagon Alley!"

As soon as they arrived, they swiftly stepped out of the fireplace to allow James and Remus to follow them.

Laughing, Eleniel turned to Sirius and told him "I never said that you being reckless was a bad thing!"

Sirius grinned at her. "What can I say? I like living dangerously" he replied.

She looked anxious. "As long as you don't get hurt" she said softly.

He smirked. "Oooh, are you concerned for my welfare Ellie?" he asked teasingly.

She lightly punched his arm. "Idiot" she said fondly. "Of course I am! You're one of my closest friends!"

Sirius pouted. "Not your number-one closest friend?" he asked.

She laughed. "Don't make me choose Siri!" she warned.

Smirking, he leant closer to her, their faces only inches apart. Smiling as he softly asked "don't I deserve to be number-1?" as he leant in further, closing the gap between them...

"Oooh, what's going on here?" James asked, sounding amused as he stepped out of the fireplace behind them. "Maybe we should have waited back at my place for a few more minutes Remus!" he told the other boy, who had appeared only seconds after him.

Eleniel and Sirius pulled back swiftly, both looking startled. "Nothing happened!" Sirius said defensively.

"Ah, but it was about to!" Remus chuckled.

Eleniel was blushing faintly. "Does it matter?" she asked.

James and Remus exchanged a look. "Are you two dating?" James asked.

Eleniel looked at Sirius. "No" they said together.

Remus and James laughed. "Could have fooled us!" Remus smirked.

Rolling her eyes, and muttering something which sounded strangely like "honestly…so immature!" Eleniel impatiently asked "Are you finished? I don't know about you three, but I do actually have some Christmas shopping to do!"

The boys grinned. "Come on guys, I need to get some presents too" Sirius agreed.

"Well no funny business!" James warned with a playful smirk.

Eleniel and Sirius sighed impatiently. "Watch it Potter, or you won't be getting a Christmas present!" Sirius warned.


	28. Christmas Shopping

"Okay, so where to first?" Remus asked, stamping his feet in an attempt to stay warm.

Eleniel looked up to the sky, from which delicate flakes of snow were beginning to fall.

"Ellie?" James asked.

She turned back to the others, snowflakes caught in her eyelashes. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Any suggestions?" Sirius asked.

She shook her head. "I don't mind" she replied.

"Well can we go somewhere, anywhere, I'm starting to get cold just standing here!" Remus exclaimed.

They laughed, heading into the nearest shop, which just so happened to be Madam Malkin's.

After browsing through the rails, Eleniel decided on dress-robes for her mum and one of her sisters and a cloak for Molly. Whilst she was paying for the items, she spotted two red-haired witches walking past the shop. As they left, she called "Lily! Molly!"

The red-haired witches turned, grinning to see their friend. After talking for a few minutes, Eleniel Molly and Lily agreed to meet up outside Olivander's in an hour.

"It'll give you three time to buy any erm…secret presents" Lily told the three boys, with a discreet look at Eleniel.

Saying goodbye-for-now to the two witches, Eleniel headed into Quality Quidditch Supplies with Remus, Sirius and James. Sirius and James stared longingly at the latest broomstick, brought out only a week ago. "Come on guys, we're buying presents, not drooling over Quidditch gear" Eleniel reminded them, smirking.

They reluctantly followed her and Remus out of the shop and towards Diagon Alley's (smaller than Hogsmeade's) branch of Honeydukes. They hurriedly bought what they needed before dragging Remus from the shop before he went into meltdown, hurriedly heading across to the cauldrons, and other practical items store, where Eleniel bought Christmas presents for Lily and her oldest sister, Lassiel.

"Ellie, it's almost time for you to meet Molly and Lily" Remus told her as they left.

"Alright" she replied as they headed across to Olivander's, where Molly and Lily were already waiting.

Eleniel told the boys "I'll meet you in Flourish and Blotts in an hour, okay?"

They nodded and said goodbye.

The three witches headed into Eeylops Owl Emporium, where Molly purchased a new owl for her Dad.

As they left the Owl Emporium, Lily teasingly asked "so what have you and Sirius been getting up to? Has he asked you out yet?"

Eleniel shook her head, but confided in her friends about what had happened with Sirius earlier.

Lily squealed. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "He'll ask you out before Christmas, I'll bet any money on it!"

Molly smirked. "Two galleons, I'm betting it'll be before New Years Day" she told Lily, holding out her hand.

"Deal" Lily agreed, shaking hands with Molly.

Eleniel face-palmed. "I do not believe you guys!" she exclaimed.

Molly and Lily looked innocent. "It's just a friendly bet" Lily said with a grin.

"Anyway, you need to find Sirius a decent present!" Molly told her.

Eleniel groaned. "I knew one of you was going to say that!" she sighed.

They traipsed into Quality Quidditch Supplies, where Eleniel purchased two of the latest brooms (one each for Sirius and James). She also bought three sets of Chudley Cannons robes for her brothers and her Dad.

"Is it okay if we stop off in Gambol and Japes?" Molly asked.

"What, the wizarding joke shop?" Lily asked, sounding amused. Molly nodded, explaining "yeah, I need to go in there too, I need to find something for the twins!"

"I could probably get Indis something in here!" Eleniel grinned as they headed inside.

They emerged a few minutes later, with bags bulging with boxes and packets of joke items. "Well this lot should keep my siblings occupied for a while!" Eleniel chuckled.

"I wish I could say the same!" Molly sighed.

"Flourish and Blotts next?" Lily asked.

Molly and Eleniel readily agreed. Lily bought Remus a book on magical creatures, whereas Eleniel bought him a collection of books on Defence Against the Dark Arts. She also bought a book on curses and counter curses (How to Get Revenge on Your Enemies; An Expert Guide-by Professor M Franklin) for Sirius. She paid for the books and had them wrapped.

She, Molly and Lily continued to browse the shelves until Remus, Sirius and James came in, looking pleased with themselves. Eleniel immediately looked suspicious. Laughing, Molly and Lily said goodbye and left their friend to it.

As soon as Lily was out of sight, Eleniel purchased a book on charms for her. After thinking for a moment, she also purchased a set of books for one of her sisters.

"Right, that's my shopping finished" she told the boys.

"We're done too" Sirius answered, still smirking.

"I don't trust that look Sirius Black" Eleniel told him.

He looked innocent. "What look?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes, Eleniel followed them out of the shop. As they used the Floo-network to return to James's, Sirius asked Eleniel "so have you had a good day?"

She nodded, smiling. "It's been great" she answered. "Aaaand…I've sorted your Christmas present!"

Sirius looked intrigued. "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm not telling!" she teased him.

Making a soft growling sound, Sirius grabbed her waist and dragged her into the fireplace, calling out "Potter Mansion. James Potter's room."


	29. Wrapping Presents

Eleniel was sat in her bedroom. There was a pile of wrapped gifts to the left of her and a pile of gifts to be wrapped to the right of her. She'd already wrapped Sirius, Remus and James's presents and hidden them, knowing that the boys were coming over.

As the flames in her fireplace burned green, James, Remus and Sirius stepped out into her room. "Wow!" they exclaimed, gazing around her massive room, which she had decorated for Christmas. "Sit down anywhere, as long as it's not on anyone's present" Eleniel instructed.

The three boys obediently found seats. Remus sat on Eleniel's desk chair, Sirius sat on the floor near her and James sat in a rocking chair she had near the fire.

They watched her continue to wrap presents for a while.

"Why are you wrapping them the muggle way?" Sirius asked.

"I think they look nicer, it shows you've put more effort into someone's gift" she replied.

Sirius looked thoughtful. "It looks too fiddly" he decided.

She delved in the pile of presents to wrap. "Try wrapping this" she told him, holding out a bar of chocolate (for one of her cousins).

Sirius looked unsure, but sat beside her and watched intently as she showed him how to wrap it. She showed Remus and James how to wrap presents the muggle way too. Remus found it quite easy, James kept getting spellotape stuck to his fingers and Sirius couldn't get the hang of it. However, by the end of the afternoon, Sirius was improving, as was James, and Eleniel had finished wrapping all of her Christmas presents.

"Yeah, I'm wrapping mine the wizard way" Sirius decided.

"Same" agreed James.

Eleniel rolled her eyes. "So I pretty much just wasted an entire afternoon" she sighed.

The boys smirked. "Hey, any afternoon spent in our company is a privilege!" Sirius told her, matter-of-factly.

"You should feel honoured" James added.

Eleniel sniggered. "Well as long as you lot remember me when you're rich and famous!" she grinned.

"We will" Remus promised with a smile. "Well, I will anyway…you never know what Sirius and James are going to do!"


	30. Christmas Eve

"Come on Ellie! We're going to be late!" Indis was calling to her younger sister.

"Indy! Have you seen my best cloak?" Eleniel called back.

"No" Indis answered, sticking her head around Eleniel's bedroom door.

"Never mind, I've found it" Eleniel shrugged, collecting her cloak from the pile of clothes on the back of her chair.

Walking into the living room, Eleniel found everyone waiting. Indis went and sat on one of the sofas with Ahredel, Lassiel and Caspian, who grinned at their sister when they spotted her. "Where's Larry? He was here a minute ago!" Eleniel's mum, Elizabeth Elwing, was asking Caspian, sounding harassed.

"Larry! Get down here! We're going to be late!" Eleniel's dad, Jeffery Elwing, yelled upstairs.

Eleniel rolled her eyes at her family's yelling, heading over to James, Remus and Sirius. James and Remus had both been forced into shirts and red ties (Gryffindor pride) with black trousers, by their mums, and Sirius had made an effort and was also wearing a white shirt, red tie and black trousers. Eleniel was wearing a grey woollen dress with her best black cape, black tights and heeled boots. "Sorry about all the noise guys" she told them.

"It's fine" they reassured her.

Eleniel's other older brother, Larrel, casually sauntered into the living room smirking.

"Right, come on everyone, we're ready to go!" Eleniel's parents were calling out. They were all leaving to go to the traditional Christmas Eve Carol Service at their local church.

Sirius bit his lip, looking hesitant. "I can't remember ever going to church…at least, not since I was very small" he admitted.

Eleniel gave him an encouraging look. "You don't have to come" she said gently. "No one will mind"

He looked at her. "No, I'll come" he said determinedly. "I'm going to prove I'm not one of them anymore"

Hesitantly, she took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'll be right there with you" she promised.

He squeezed her hand, not needing to say a word.

As they followed Eleniel's family out of her house, they were followed by the Potters and the Lupins. James and Remus smirked at the sight of their two friends and Eleniel's siblings looked amused.

Eleniel's family sat near the back half of the church, as the rest of it was already full. The Potters and the Lupins sat with the Elwings. Eleniel's siblings sat behind the adults, and James, Remus, Eleniel and Sirius sat behind them, in the very back row.

They were nearing the end of the service and everyone was singing along to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" when Sirius made a choked noise and disappeared outside. Eleniel exchanged a worried look with Remus and James. "It's okay, I'll go" she said in a low voice, quickly heading after Sirius.

She found him sat on the steps outside the church. She sat down next to him.

"Hey" she said softly.

He didn't reply, but a lone tear rolled down his cheek. She carefully brushed it away, gently pulling him into a hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled.

She hugged him tighter. "What about?" she asked.

"Running out like that…I, I just couldn't stay there" he said in a low voice. "You were all there with your families and,…I guess I just felt isolated" he admitted.

Eleniel rested her hands on his shoulders, looking at him seriously. "You're a part of my family now" she told him. "You don't need them, they don't deserve you"

He gazed at her for a few moments, before slowly closing the gap between them. As their lips met, the congregation inside burst into "Once in Royal David's City", sparks exploding in Sirius's stomach and butterflies beating their wings with excitement in Eleniel's stomach. It was a perfect first kiss, short and sweet. Sirius reluctantly pulled back, mumbling an apology.

"Ellie, I like you, I mean, I like like you" he stammered. "So, will you…willyoubemygirlfriend?" he asked in a rush.

Eleniel smiled. "Of course I will" she said softly.

Sirius looked happy and, leaning in, he gently pressed his lips against her own once more. Around them, snowflakes began to fall softly to the ground. As they broke apart, Eleniel smiled and said "it looks like it's going to be a white Christmas!"

Getting to her feet, she held her hand out to Sirius. He took it, squeezing it gently as he stood. "Ready to give it another try?" she asked.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Yes" he said finally, walking back into the church with her. As they returned to their places in the pew with James and Remus, the vicar was about to give the final blessing.

As they left and returned to the Elwings mansion, Remus and James gave Sirius and Eleniel a curious look. "So, are you two dating now?" James asked in a low voice, pointedly looking at their entwined fingers. "Yeah" Sirius and Eleniel admitted.

Remus and James grinned. "Finally!" they exclaimed.

"This Christmas is already turning out to be one of the best ones I've had" Sirius announced.


	31. Christmas Day

They all got up extra-early.

Eleniel, her parents and her siblings shared round presents before they all headed into the kitchen for pancakes for breakfast.

After breakfast, Sirius went to find Eleniel, who had gone to fetch some owl treats from her room.

"Hey" he said quietly.

She spun around. "Hey" she smiled.

He handed her a badly-wrapped present. "Sorry about the wrapping, I tried doing it the muggle way for you and it just didn't work out" he apologised.

She smiled. "Hey at least you tried!"

"Open it" he encouraged.

She cautiously unwrapped it and took out a small, black jewellery box. She slowly opened it to reveal a silver charm bracelet with a lion, a love heart and a silver letter "E" hanging off it. "Siri it's amazing" she breathed, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much!"

She carefully took it out of the box. "Will you fasten it for me?" she asked.

Sirius fumbled with the small silver clasp, but managed to fasten it around her wrist.

She hugged him again. "Thanks Siri" she said quietly.

He hugged her back. "You're welcome. I thought maybe you could buy some other charms when we all go places" he explained.

She smiled. "That's a really good idea!" she answered.

Then she turned to her wardrobe and took Sirius' presents out of the bottom.

As he unwrapped them, his smile grew wider. He hugged her tightly. "Thanks Ellie!" he exclaimed, kissing her forehead.

Hesitantly, he pressed his lips against her own. As she began to kiss him back, her bedroom door opened and James and Remus came in.

"We always seem to walk in at the right moment" James joked.

"You don't. You really don't." Sirius groaned.

"Hey well at least we know there won't be any pregnancies" James teased.

Sirius and Eleniel looked outraged and Remus decided to step in before things got violent. "Hey guys, Merry Christmas" he said to Eleniel and Sirius.

Eleniel smiled. "Thanks Remmy, Merry Christmas to you too" she hugged him.

James grinned. "Merry Christmas you lot" he told his friends.

Eleniel hugged James too. "Merry Christmas Jamesie" she answered.

The four of them swapped presents before heading downstairs to spend time with their families.

Christmas Day was very relaxed; after lunch, they helped clear away before heading into the living room, where they all played board games and team games for several hours. Later, they went out for a walk before returning to the Elwings' for Christmas cake and hot drinks.

As the day drew to a close, Sirius, Eleniel, Remus and James were all in Eleniel's room, watching a muggle Christmas film on Eleniel's muggle portable DVD player. The film finished and the ending credits rolled. They all sat up, stretching.

"Thanks guys" Eleniel said quietly.

"What for?" Remus looked puzzled.

"Just for all being here, I can't imagine having had a Christmas Day without you all" she explained.

The boys suddenly gathered her in a group hug.

"Thank you Ellie, without you, I'd be locked up in my room at home" Sirius told her.

"And I'd be getting teased; we'd have the baby albums out by now!" James chuckled.

"By now, I'd probably be bored!" Remus admitted.

"Well lets just say that together we've had a pretty awesome Christmas Day!" Eleniel grinned.

"Definitely!" they all agreed.


	32. Back to School

It was the 3rd of January, and a new term was beginning at Hogwarts.

Sirius, James, Remus and Peter were all already in their usual compartment on the Hogwarts Express when Eleniel arrived. She had only just slung her case into the luggage rack when the train set off. Taken by surprise, she fell forwards, landing on Sirius. Her boyfriend smirked at her. "Did you really miss me so much that you had to throw yourself at me?" he teased.

She giggled and pulled a face at him, squirming to get away from him, but he had his arms firmly around her waist.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed.

He looked innocent. "Yes Ellie?" he asked.

"Let go of me!" she demanded.

Sniggering, Sirius let go of her waist and she managed to detach herself from him, sitting down on the seat between him and Remus.

Remus looked up from his book long enough to give her an amused look.

She grinned back, looking startled when a screech sounded from outside the window. An untidy-looking barn owl was flying alongside the train, trying desperately to get through the barely-open window.

James, who was beside the window, pushed it open and the owl shot inside, landing in a very undignified heap of feathers on the floor.

Peter gave a surprised cry. "Pumpkin!" he squeaked.

The others gave him a very confused, yet entertained look.

"Pumpkin?!" James and Sirius snorted incredulously.

"Is this your owl?" Remus asked.

Eleniel didn't say anything, she just began to laugh.

Peter had gone red. Pumpkin the Barn Owl had now stood and perched on Peter's empty owl cage which was resting in the luggage rack.

Remus was looking from the empty owl cage, to Pumpkin, to Peter, which a bemused expression on his face.

"Pumpkin is my owl" Peter admitted. "I've had him for almost 4 years"

"You named your owl Pumpkin!" Sirius was giving his bark-like laugh, almost crying with laughter.

"So, did you mean to bring him to Hogwarts?" Eleniel asked, attempting to ignore her boyfriend, but unable to hide her grin.

Peter nodded. "I thought I'd put him in his cage, I must have forgotten" he muttered.

James gave a sudden shriek of laughter. "You didn't realise that you were carrying an EMPTY owl cage?" he too was almost crying with laughter.

Remus and Eleniel were trying their best not to laugh, feeling sorry for Peter, after all; he couldn't really help being forgetful…

But looking from the owl cage to Peter's bewildered expression, to their near-hysterical friends, Remus and Eleniel too, exploded with laughter.

Peter looked around at his friends: James was clutching the window-frame, tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks, Eleniel was sprawled on the seat, holding her splitting sides as she laughed her head off, Remus was leaning against the back of the seat; howling with laughter, but Sirius was by far the worst; he was rolling around the floor of the compartment, laughing hysterically. Eventually, Peter began to see the funny side of it and he too joined in the laughter.

They were almost at Hogwarts, when a Gryffindor prefect, curious as to how five students could make so much noise, looked in at the door. The hysterical students didn't even notice as the prefect hastily withdrew her head and left them to it.


	33. A Challenge

Remus, Sirius, James, Eleniel and Peter were all late for Divination. Again.

The professor, an ageing woman, whom Eleniel was a particular favourite of (thanks to her sister Aredhel who had been excellent at Divination), demanded to know why they were nearly fifteen minutes late to her lesson.

The four boys immediately looked to Eleniel to get them out of trouble.

Stepping forwards, Eleniel put on her most innocent expression. "I'm ever so sorry Professor Hawthorne, we took a wrong turn and somehow ended up near the dungeons, then we asked Peeves for help and he sent us in the complete wrong direction" her tone was innocent and apologetic.

"Never mind child, that Peeves is a menace, leading my students astray, I've a good mind to speak to the headmaster!" Professor Hawthorne fell hook, line and sinker for Eleniel's story, which was (mostly) true.

Sirius was shooting Eleniel a "say something!" look.

"Oh no Professor, I wouldn't want to get Peeves into trouble, I'm sure he didn't realise that we had Divination!" Eleniel's voice took on a martyr-like tone.

"Quite right child, the silly poltergeist was probably bored" Professor Hawthorne tended to agree with anything said by an Elwing.

"Maybe we should ask Dumbledore to get a mate for Peeves" Sirius suggested wickedly.

The class erupted into giggles.

Professor Hawthorne sighed wearily. "Now now children, let us not let our imaginations run away with us…" she raised her voice slightly.

A hush fell over the class.

"Now, take out the solar system essays I asked you to prepare…"

Later…

"Professor Hawthorne goes along with whatever you say Ellie! James sniggered as they made their way back to their common room.

Sirius, who had an arm around his girlfriend, smirked and said "it must be your amazing acting skills"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, either that or the fact that Aredhel was amazing at Divination and so our dear Professor loves to agree with whatever us Elwings chose to say" she chuckled.

Remus was looking slightly anxious. "What's wrong Remmy?" Eleniel asked, looking concerned.

"I don't know…it's just that we should know out way around by now, everyone else has" Remus sighed.

"Then might I suggest, that instead of spending your free time messing around, the five of you create a map?" Professor McGonnagol spoke from behind them.

They all jumped.

"If you don't mind me asking Professor, would we be getting any extra credit if we succeeded in making a full map of Hogwarts?" James asked, looking interested.

Their Head of House looked amused. "If it was produced to a satisfactory standard, then I don't see why not" she replied. "However, I would expect all of your class-work and homework to be completed to your usual standards too" she added sternly, before walking away, leaving the five students to begin talking excitedly.

"Do you really think we could do if?" Remus asked excitedly.

"I'm up for a challenge!" Sirius exclaimed.

"We can definitely give it a damn good shot" James agreed.

"Let's do it then" Eleniel nodded.

"It sounds like an awful lot of work…" Peter mumbled under his breath, but no one was listening, they were all too busy planning when they would start making their map.


	34. An Early Morning

Several weeks had passed since Professor McGonnagol had set them the challenge. With the help of a book borrowed from the library, they had drawn out the outside measurements of the castle and were now conducting tests on various rooms in the castle to make sure the measurements matched.  
>"Morning Ellie, Morning Lils!" Molly exclaimed cheerily as she came back into the dorm from their bathroom, to find her friends now awake.<br>"Why are you so cheerful at this time of the morning?" Eleniel grumbled.  
>Lily laughed. "Snap out of it Ellie! Don't make me fetch Black!"<br>Eleniel snorted. "Good luck with that! Sirius is even worse than me on a morning!"  
>Molly looked shocked. "Is that even possible?" she questioned.<br>Eleniel chuckled from her cocoon of blankets. "Go see for yourself" she told her.  
>"Ellie, get up" Lily told her friend as waved her wand at the window, causing it to open and let in a soft breeze.<br>Eleniel muttered ssomething unintelligible and curled up even tighter into her blankets.  
>After exchanging a look, Molly and Lily pulled out their wands, using them to strip away Eleniel's blankets.<br>Their friend sat up, giving an irritated exclamation. "Why do I need to get up at..." she turned to look at the clock on their wall "6:35am on a Saturday?" she demanded.  
>Lily and Molly laughed. "Because you promised us that you'd spend today with us and not with the boys, so we're making the most of it!" Molly replied.<br>"And that means you need to get up at 6:35am" Lily added with a grin.  
>Grumbling, Eleniel got up and stalked into the bathroom with an armful of clothes to get reappeared several minutes later, wearing a Chudley Cannons T-Shirt with black skinny jeans and black Converse.<br>As the three of them headed off to get breakfast, they began planning how they were going to spend their day...

A/N: I know it's short and I haven't updated for ages, but I've been a bit overloaded with coursework recently and that needs to take priority because my GCSEs are in a few months. I'll try and post a longer chapter soon! Thank you to everyone who has bore with me, I really appreciate it! :)


	35. Not a Morning Person

Several weeks had passed since Professor McGonnagol had set them the challenge. With the help of a book borrowed from the library, they had drawn out the outside measurements of the castle and were now conducting tests on various rooms in the castle to make sure the measurements matched.  
>"Morning Ellie, Morning Lils!" Molly exclaimed cheerily as she came back into the dorm from their bathroom, to find her friends now awake.<br>"Why are you so cheerful at this time of the morning?" Eleniel grumbled.  
>Lily laughed. "Snap out of it Ellie! Don't make me fetch Black!"<br>Eleniel snorted. "Good luck with that! Sirius is even worse than me on a morning!"  
>Molly looked shocked. "Is that even possible?" she questioned.<br>Eleniel chuckled from her cocoon of blankets. "Go see for yourself" she told her.  
>"Ellie, get up" Lily told her friend as waved her wand at the window, causing it to open and let in a soft breeze.<br>Eleniel muttered ssomething unintelligible and curled up even tighter into her blankets.  
>After exchanging a look, Molly and Lily pulled out their wands, using them to strip away Eleniel's blankets.<br>Their friend sat up, giving an irritated exclamation. "Why do I need to get up at..." she turned to look at the clock on their wall "6:35am on a Saturday?" she demanded.  
>Lily and Molly laughed. "Because you promised us that you'd spend today with us and not with the boys, so we're making the most of it!" Molly replied.<br>"And that means you need to get up at 6:35am" Lily added with a grin.  
>Grumbling, Eleniel got up and stalked into the bathroom with an armful of clothes to get reappeared several minutes later, wearing a Chudley Cannons T-Shirt with black skinny jeans and black Converse.<br>As the three of them headed off to get breakfast, they began planning how they were going to spend their day...

A/N: I know it's short and I haven't updated for ages, but I've been a bit overloaded with coursework recently and that needs to take priority because my GCSEs are in a few months. I'll try and post a longer chapter soon! Thank you to everyone who has bore with me, I really appreciate it! :)


	36. Girly Day

As soon as they had finished eating breakfast, the three girls headed back up to their dorm. By now, Eleniel was far more cheerful and looking forward to spending the day with her friends.  
>"So, what are we doing first?' Eleniel asked.<br>"Painting our nails" Lily beamed.  
>"The muggle way!" Molly added excitedly.<br>Eleniel grinned. "You two have been planning today, haven't you?" she asked, sounding amused.  
>Molly and Lily nodded as they walked into their dorm.<br>Lily headed straight across to her trunk and removed a silver and black box from it. Crowding round, they saw that it was full of muggle nail art equipment.  
>"Dibs on the red nail polish!" Eleniel exclaimed.<br>Lily chose a hot pink nail polish, whereas Molly chose a forest green shade.  
>The dorm settled into silence as the three girls sat on Lily's bed, concentrating on painting their nails.<br>As they waited for their nails to dry, they began to giggle about the stories in Eleniel's latest copy of Teen Witch (which had arrived by owl post, the previous day).  
>"Vladimir Krow!" Molly squealed.<br>Lily and Eleniel rolled their eyes, but when they saw the picture of the handsome, dark-haired Quidditch Player (the Russian team's Keeper), smirking at the camera, they both began to giggle.  
>"Wow, he's a lot more attractive than he was last time I saw him featured in Teen Witch..." Eleniel looked amazed.<br>"He's incredibly handsome..." Lily sighed dreamily.  
>"Hands off ladies, I spotted him first!" Molly smirked.<br>Lily and Eleniel looked outraged.  
>"Hey! I'm much more likely to stand a chance, I'm the only one here who plays Quidditch!" Eleniel crowed.<br>"You're also the only one here who has a boyfriend!" Lily sniggered.  
>Eleniel pouted. "Well, we all know who Snape has a thing for..." she looked around innocently.<br>Lily looked enraged. "We're simply friends!" she retorted.  
>Molly raised her eyebrows. "Of course you are" she said, sounding disbelieving.<br>"Well, what about you and Arthur?" Lily taunted.  
>Molly looked furious.<br>"Ladies, ladies...my calculations show that there is enough of Vladimir Krow to go around...if we split him three ways..." Eleniel giggled.  
>Lily and Molly broke up their dispute, as they too, began to giggle uncontrollably.<p>

As the three of them headed down to lunch, they passed three boys, who were members of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams. They were discussing current Quidditch players, and the name "Vladimir Krow" was heard by all three girls, who immediately collapsed into a fit of giggles. The three Quidditch players looked wary and hurried into the Great Hall ahead of them, muttering amongst themselves about how they would "never be able to understand girls..."


	37. A Misunderstanding

That evening, Eleniel, Molly and Lily were heading back to their common room, having finished their tea.  
>Suddenly Sirius appeared in front of them. "Ellie, can I talk to you?" he asked.<br>Eleniel nodded. "You two carry on, I'll meet you in our dorm" she told Molly and Lily, who nodded and continued walking.  
>She looked curiously at Sirius, who pulled her into an empty classroom.<br>Sitting on top of a desk, she swung her legs childishly. "What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.  
>Sirius looked at the floor.<br>"Sirius?" she asked.  
>He met her concerned gaze. "I'm sorry" he mumbled. "Can you forgive me?"<br>Eleniel looked confused. "I don't uunderstand...what are you saying sorry for?"  
>"I don't know. I figured I must have upset you or said something...I haven't seen you all day, it's like you've been avoiding me and I don't understand why" Sirius shrugged, his forehead creasing as he frowned.<br>She sighed. "Siri...you haven't done anything to upset me! Molly and Lily just wanted to spend a girly Saturday with me, so we've been in our dorm almost all day, doing each other's hair and painting our nails and stuff" she explained, showing him her nails. "Did you honestly think you'd upset me?"  
>He nodded, a look of relief spreading across his face. "You mean, you're not mad at me?" he checked.<br>Smiling, she shook her head. "Course I'm not!" she chuckled.  
>Sirius looked relieved and pulled her into a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head, before gently pressing his lips against her own. As she responded, he tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss.<br>When they broke apart, their cheeks were flushed.  
>Sirius' eyes were smiling and his grin matched that of his girlfriend.<br>"I should probably go, Lily and Molly will be waiting" she sighed.  
>Sirius did a low, sweeping bow, holding his hand out to her. "Madam, allow me to eescort you to your staircase" he smirked, helping her down off the desk on which she was seated.<br>She giggled. "Why thank you kind sir" she replied, taking his hand.  
>As the walked back to the common room, hand in hand, Eleniel felt like she was floating in a bubble of happiness.<p> 


	38. Sunday Funday

"Ellie!" Molly called through the bathroom door. "Is that you in there?"  
>Giggling, Eleniel came out of the bathroom, having finished brushing her teeth. "I'd be worried if it wasn't me" she commented. "Both you and Lily are in here, which would have meant that someone had snuck into our dorm to use the bathroom!"<br>Molly rolled her eyes. "Are you two ready?" she asked.  
>Eleniel and Lily both nodded, getting to their feet and heading out of their dorm.<br>The three girls headed out to the grounds to watch the Quidditch tryouts.  
>Sirius and James were both trying out for the Gryffindor team; James for the position of Seeker and Sirius for the position of Beater. Remus and Peter, both of whom were not trying out, were already seated in the stands, having arrived to support their friends. Arthur Weasley was sitting with them, talking animatedly to Remus, who was nodding enthusiastically.<br>The three girls sat down with them, greeting them merrily. Eleniel leant over the stands to wave to Sirius and James, grinning cheerfully.  
>"Are there no girls trying out for the Gryffindor team?" Lily asked.<br>"I thought Indis and her friend Becky were trying out?" Molly asked, giving Eleniel a questioning look.  
>Eleniel shrugged, but then pointed back down towards the students awaiting their turn to impress the Captain; Daniel Jordans. "There they are, they've just turned up!" she replied. "There's two other girls as well, there, talking to Madam Hooch"<br>Molly shaded her eyes to see who her friend was pointing at. "I don't know their names" she shrugged.  
>"Who are you talking about?" Peter asked, growing bored of listening to Remus and Arthur's conversation.<br>Molly pointed out the two girls.  
>Peter frowned, trying to wrack his brain. "I think they're third years, but I don't know their names" he said eventually.<br>Lily rolled her eyes. "So helpful" she mouthed to Eleniel and Molly, who both tried not to laugh. "I hope at least one girl makes it onto the team; we can't have an all male team!" she said out loud.  
>The other three nodded in agreement.<br>Remus looked up suddenly. "They're trying out Beaters now!" he exclaimed.  
>They all watched intently as Sirius thwacked the bludger with the bat, hitting it squarely every time. Eleniel's sister Indis also tried out for Beater and so did one of the girls whose name they didn't know.<br>"This is going to be a tough decision; they're all really good" Arthur mused.  
>When it was the turn of the Seekers tryouts, only James and a second year boy stepped forwards. Madam Hooch timed how long each of the took to find the Snitch and Daniel also got them to demonstrate their catching ability. Both were extremly good, with only seconds between their times.<p>

That afternoon...  
>They had not long since finished lunch. Most of Gryffindor house was gathered in the common room, waiting for Daniel to read out the team members and the reserves. The team consisted of Daniel as Keeper, Indis and the unknown girl as Beaters (Eleniel squeezed Sirius' hand comfortingly when she saw a flicker of disappointment cross his face), two fourth year boys and a third year boy as Chasers and the second year boy as Seeker.<br>James and Sirius both looked disappointed, but then Daniel read out the reserve team; Sirius was a Beater and James was the Seeker!  
>Eleniel hugged Sirius tightly, repeating the words "well done, Siri" over and over again.<br>He hugged her back tightly, grinning insanely.  
>James still looked to be in shock, until Daniel himself came over to speak to them. "Well played kids" he congratulated them. "Keep practicing and you might make the team next time!"<br>Sirius and James looked deliriously happy at this; unable to believe what they were being told.  
>"This is a great end to a bbrilliant weekend!" Eleniel told Molly and Lily, who couldn't help but agree.<p> 


	39. Half-Term Plans & Map Measurements

A week later...  
>It was a week before they broke up for the February half-term. Eleniel was sitting on the windowseat in Sirius, James, Remus and Peter's dorm. Sirius was tying his shoelaces, James was searching for a jumper and the others were waiting. Impatiently.<br>"So what are we doing at half-term?" Peter asked.  
>Sirius looked up. "I hate to say it, but I can't have anyone over" he sighed.<br>Remus looked understanding. "Don't worry about it Sirius, we all know why" he replied.  
>"My parents have said I can have you all over" James grinned, pulling on a red jumper.<br>"Does everyone include Eleniel?" Peter asked, flinching as the said witch pulled out her wand. But she simply flicked it in the direction of Sirius and the knot in his shoelace untied itself.  
>"Obviously" James rolled his eyes.<br>Eleniel smiled. "I may be able to have you lot over, but I can't say for sure; not yet anyway"  
>"I'm ready" Sirius got to his feet.<br>"Finally!" James chuckled.  
>Sirius pulled a face at his best friend, grabbing the hand of his girlfriend as they all left the dorm.<br>"So where to first?" Peter asked.  
>Remus checked the list on the parchment he was carrying. "The Great Hall" he replied.<br>When they arrived in the Great Hall, it was empty. Dinner wasn't for several hours, giving them plenty of time.  
>They spent the next three-quarters of an hour measuring the length, width and height of the Great Hall and making notes on the parchment Remus was carrying.<br>"Right, so we have the outside measurements of the castle and those of the Great Hall" Remus checked them off the list. "Next stop; the kitchens!"


	40. February Half-Term

It was the first day of half-term. Sirius was sat in his bedroom at Grimmauld Place, miserably looking out of the window. He hadn't seen his friends for 24 hours and he already missed them like crazy.  
>Suddenly, Eleniel's owl flew into his room. It dropped a letter into his lap and hopped onto his desk to wait for a reply.<br>Sirius eagerly tore open the envelope; reading through his letter from his girlfriend. It read:  
>Hey Siri,<br>How're things with you? Are you in right now?  
>Please reply quickly; it's important!<br>Love, Ellie x  
>Grinning, he scrawled a reply and gave it to Eleniel's owl, which sped out of the window the second the letter was in it's beak.<br>Ten minutes later...  
>Sirius was still sitting staring out of the window when the flames in his fireplace burned bright green and Eleniel stepped out of them.<br>Sirius shot up from his seat, hugging her tightly. "Ellie!" he exclaimed in delight. But then he frowned. "I told you not to come here"  
>She giggled. "Well I'm here now!"<br>"Why?" Sirius asked. "What's the emergency?"  
>"You're spending the day with us" his girlfriend replied. "Are you ready? Or do you want to change first?"<br>"Erm...I'll stay as I am" he glanced down at his Quidditch shirt, black jeans and black converse.  
>Eleniel nodded approvingly. "Come on then! Got your wand? Cloak?"<br>Sirius nodded both times, grabbing his cloak off the hook on the back of his door.  
>His girlfriend grinned and grabbed his hand, dragging him out into the corridor.<br>"Ellie wait! My mother..." Sirius hissed.  
>Eleniel held a finger to her lips. "We need to go out of the front door" she replied in a whisper.<br>Sirius nodded. "This way" he headed down the stairs, squeezing her hand tightly. They were just heading towards the door when Sirius' mother shot out of a nearby room to see who was in her house.  
>"And who are you?" she hissed at Eleniel.<br>Sirius looked panicked, but Eleniel kept calm. "I'm Eleniel Elwing; Sirius' girlfriend" she answered calmly.  
>Sirius inwardly groaned as his mother frowned, sharply asking "pureblood?"<br>Eleniel looked insulted by the question. "I'm an Elwing; of course I'm a pureblood" she snapped back, just as sharply.  
>Sirius looked relieved as his mother gave a curt nod. "Maybe you're not completely hopeless after all" she grudgingly told him before vanishing back into the room which she had just appeared from.<br>As Sirius and Eleniel stepped out of the house, he murmured "well done, I had no idea you were such a brilliant actress!"  
>Eleniel grinned. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me!" she teased him.<br>Sirius pouted. "Well I'm going to discover everything about you" he said, determination creeping into his voice.  
>"Everything?" she asked.<br>"Everything" he confirmed, leaning towards her and gently kissing her.


	41. Half Term: Day 1

"Where are we going?" Sirius asked.  
>His girlfriend smirked. "To meet up with James, Remus and Peter; I already told you!" she replied as she continued to lead him down the street.<br>As they rounded the corner of the street, Eleniel finally stopped walking.  
>"What are we doing now?" he asked.<br>Giggling, she replied "waiting!"  
>Sirius looked curious. "Waiting for what?" he asked.<br>His girlfriend ignored the question, but it was answered seconds later, when the Knight Bus screeched to a halt in front of them.  
>Paying for their tickets, they got on, finding seats on the first floor. "This is the Knight Bus, right?" Sirius asked.<br>Eleniel nodded. "Ever been on it before?" she asked.  
>He nodded. "Not since I was a little kid" he replied.<br>Eleniel laughed, but the sound was torn from her mouth as the bus took off, speeding down the road.  
>The pair of them clung onto handrails as the bus rocketed onwards. By the time the bus screeched to a halt, they were both paler than usual, but were both laughing.<br>"The Leaky Cauldron" the Conductor announced. Thanking him, they got off the bus, heading inside The Leaky Cauldron. James, Remus and Peter were already waiting for them inside.  
>"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Sirius asked.<br>"You tell him Remus" Eleniel smiled.  
>Nodding, Remus began to speak. "Well, we knew how much you were dreading spending a week at Grimmauld Place, so we came up with a plan" he explained, looking to James to continue.<br>"The plan is that every day the four, five when Ellie is free, of us will meet up and hang out. My parents have invited the four of you over tomorrow, to stay over" James finished.  
>"Oh, and my parents have invited you all to stay over the next night" Peter added.<br>Sirius looked slightly overwhelmed. "Well say something Siri!" His girlfriend was smiling at him.  
>"I don't know what to say! Thanks guys, this means a lot" Sirius smiled at them.<br>"So, we figured that today, you should choose where we go" James told his best friend.  
>Sirius grinned. "There's a Quidditch match on: Chudley Cannons vs. Applbey Arrows, how about we all go and see that?" he suggested.<br>The others all grinned and nodded.  
>"Let's go!" Peter cheered.<p>

That Evening...  
>Sirius travelled via the Knight Bus back to Grimmauld Place. Eleniel travelled with him.<br>"I told you Chudley Cannons would win! They're on some kind of lucky streak recently!" Eleniel grinned.  
>Sirius made a face. "Well it was close" he shrugged.<br>Eleniel nodded, agreeing.  
>As they headed up to Sirius's room, they passed a young boy, who looked like a younger version of Sirius.<br>"Who are you?" he asked Eleniel.  
>"I'm Eleniel Elwing, Sirius' girlfriend" she replied.<br>The boy wrinkled his nose, looking uuncertain.  
>Sighing, Sirius introduced them. "Ellie, this is my younger brother, Regulas. Regulas, this is my girlfriend, Eleniel" he waved his hand at each of them as he spoke.<br>Regulas rolled his eyes and continued to walk down the stairs. Eleniel looked puzzled, but Sirius just shook his head.  
>Before she left (via the Floo Network) Eleniel told Sirius "I'll stop by at 9:00 tomorrow to collect you; make sure you have enough clothes and stuff for a week!"<br>He nodded, kissing her for a long moment before stepping back and allowing her to be transported back to her own bedroom in her own house via bright green flames.


End file.
